When September rolls around, it feels like the dawn of a new culinary year. It’s late summer but also the beginning of fall, and the season is peaking. The colorful, bountiful produce is beginning to wane into heartier, rootier, more robust fruits and vegetables. September also feels like a natural time to start cooking in the oven a bit after a few months of grilling and chilling and endless salads.
I find it important to listen to those feelings. This week’s recipe for Sungold Tomato and Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas guides a quick interpretation of the classic Mexican dish of stuffed, rolled, sauced and baked tortillas.
Sungold tomatoes may not be a traditional choice for enchilada sauce, but when these small sunset-orange orbs are roasted, they transform into sweet bursts of flavor — little ushers into the transition of seasons.
In this recipe, they are just that. They’re roasted on top of and alongside the enchiladas with a quick onion-y broth made with white wine, chicken stock and garlic. As the ingredients mingle and simmer in the oven, they come together to make for a rustic and lighter enchilada. If I wanted a spicier sauce, I’d add a couple of spoonfuls of pureed chipotle chiles in adobo. However, this is completely optional, and a couple dashes of your favorite hot sauce after the fact can do the trick too.
For these enchiladas, a light and vibrant sauce is a welcome companion because the filling is savory and cheesy. For that filling, I take advantage of convenient rotisserie chicken and chunks of mozzarella cheese for a quick, comforting bite. Because I find rotisserie chicken to really vary in how well it’s seasoned, I first season it myself, then tuck in chunks of cheese before rolling.
These enchiladas need little in the way of accompaniment. A simple mixed green salad does the trick. A dash of garlicky hot sauce and lager aren’t bad ideas, either.
Reach Christian Reynoso: [email protected]
Sungold Tomato and Rotisserie Chicken Enchiladas
Serves 4
This late-summer version of enchiladas, stuffed with a convenient filling of rotisserie chicken and melty mozzarella, features a rustic sauce of roasted Sungold tomatoes.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced from root to stem
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 large garlic cloves, finely grated or finely chopped
1 teaspoon red chile flakes
½ cup white wine
1½ cups chicken stock or water
12 (5½-inch) corn tortillas
6 ounces mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves, plus more for serving
Flake salt, to taste
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan followed by the onion and the salt (Diamond Crystal kosher). Saute, stirring regularly until very soft, but not translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chile flakes and saute until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and stock, bring to a simmer and then turn off heat.
Heat the tortillas over the stovetop in a pan over medium heat (if you have a gas stove, directly over flame to get some nice charred spots) until pliable and soft. Transfer to a plate and cover with another plate so they don’t dry out. Set aside.
Tear or slice the cheese into small, nickel- to quarter-size pieces. Set half aside for topping the enchiladas right before baking.
Pour the onion broth into a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish. Individually dip one tortilla at a time into the onion broth, set aside on a plate and then fill the center with about ¼ cup of chicken, some of the non-reserved cheese and some oregano, and roll into a cylinder. Place in the center of the baking dish to start forming a row. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, chicken, cheese and oregano.
Place the tomatoes on the sides and over the top of the enchiladas, and sprinkle the reserved cheese over the enchiladas. Generously drizzle olive oil over, sprinkle with flake salt and bake for 30 minutes. The tomatoes should be bursted and slightly blistered, and the cheese melted with some light golden spots.
To serve, use a wide spatula to transfer to plates and sprinkle with more fresh oregano leaves over the top.
