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Enchiladas Potosi Style or Enchiladas Potosinas

Enchiladas Potosi Style or Enchiladas Potosinas

This recipe for Enchiladas Potosi Style or Enchiladas Potosinas is inspired by my cooking class at Can Cook in Cancun and developed to suit my own palate. This recipe makes 20 enchiladas.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 24
Author Valerie Lugonja inspired by Chef Claudia

Ingredients

For the shell:

  • 100 g of Homemade Mexican Chile Paste [made with guajilla peppers only for the traditional red colour of the shell; these are the peppers used for the authentic version
  • 500 g mesa corn flour (MesaCa)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 300 g water used to soak the peppers to make the chile paste

For Valerie's filling (enough for only 12-14 enchiladas):

  • 3 tablespoons onion , minced
  • 1/2 jalapeño , peeled, seeded, stemmed and minced
  • 1 ripe tomato , peeled, seeded, and minced
  • 1 cup queso fresco
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For frying:

  • Extra oil

Instructions

For the shell:

  1. Reserve one tablespoon of the Homemade Mexican Chile Paste for the filling
  2. Place the mesa in a bowl; add remaining chile paste, salt and 200g of the water
  3. Combine, kneading to form a ball
  4. Add 100g of water through kneading process
  5. Form dough into two equal balls (mine weighed 520g each); rest for 20 minutes sealed in plastic (or overnight, even better)

Day Two or Process:

  1. Make the filling first
  2. Make each tortilla one at a time (instructions below)
  3. Fill and bake each tortilla on the comal or something similar, as you make each one
  4. Set aside all baked enchiladas potosinas to fry at the end

For Valerie's filling:

  1. Place x on bottom of tomato and pepper; place each in pot with boiling water
  2. boil each side about 30 seconds, then run under cold water
  3. Remove skins; mince
  4. Combine cheese with the onion, jalapeno, tomato, salt and 1 tablespoon chile puree; combine and set aside

Finish preparing each shell:

  1. On day two, or after resting the dough, place in food processor and puree; it should crumble
  2. Add 50g water to the dough, to combine into a supple soft clay-like easily pliable consistency
  3. Form one portion of the dough into twelve equal balls, keep covered in plastic or with a damp towel so they do not dry out (43g each worked well)
  4. Place each ball between two pieces of thick plastic (zip lock bags work well) on tortilla press and flatten to achieve a 3 inch circle (Sadly, each tortilla press has its faults; I have to press lightly twice, turning each time and turning the third time to the full press to get a good even tortilla with mine: find the sweet spot on your press)
  5. Peel the dough off of the plastic and fill it, keeping the dough tightly wrapped so it doesn't dry out
  6. Place filled enchiladas potosinas on parchement tray covered with damp cloth or plastic wrap until ready to dry fry or fry in oil

Putting each enchilada together:

  1. Place dollop of filling in middle of each shell in your hand; moisten the edges on on half of the shell with water, if necessary: mine was moist enough
  2. Press filling from both sides of the shell toward the edges, trying to ensure there is no bottom, or flat side; seal by pressing the edges of the dough together
  3. Trim the edges, if sloppy
  4. Cover with plastic or a damp cloth while making the remainder of the enchiladas

Dry Frying the Enchiladas:

  1. Cook on dry skillet or comal for 2-3 minutes on each side, until shell changes colour and appears cooked OR

Frying the Enchiladas

  1. Heat 1/2 inch oil in skillet, add 3-4 enchiladas at a time, frying for 1-2 minutes each (30 seconds to 1 minute, per side), until done
  2. Drain on paper towel
  3. Serve with crisp lettuce and Mexican crema

Recipe Notes

If frying, and they are scrumptious fried, make ahead, covered well with plastic and fry the next day, just before service.
You you will need to double the filling if making the entire recipe at once; there is only enough filling for 12-14 enchiladas.
Most English recipes use Ancho and Pasilla peppers for the chile paste in the shells. Chef Claudia recommends Guajilla and Ancho peppers.
Anaheim peppers make a nice substitution for the jalapeño in the filling if you want to avoid heat.