Friday, May 14, 2010

Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchiladas and Chili Coconut Lime Mango "Salad"

Our hosts for this month for the Daring Cooks Challenge, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh. 

This challenge was the first time I had seen stacked enchiladas and the presentation really appealed to me, so I was excited even though I NEVER order enchiladas. I'm more of a guacuamole salad, tostada, fajita, quesadilla or beans and rice girl (not all of that at once though I swear).

I planned ahead to serve these on Cinco de Mayo and did the work over several days, which was great as making your own enchilada sauce is time consuming. Roasting and peeling the peppers was the hardest part (after tracking them and the tomatillos down in Chelsea Market's Manhattan Fruit Exchange); it required a lot of patience and more time than the rest of the sauce's preparation. My hands were tingly the next day after handling the peppers so long, which amused me and reminded me of the hard work I had done. 

I followed the recipe pretty exactly making only two changes: I skipped the homemade tortillas (though I hope to make them soon) and improvised on the grilled chicken by sauteing on the stove top to caramelize some flavor into it and then put the breasts in the oven to finish. The resulting stacks were very filling, savory and spicy. They even reheated fairly well.

I'm pleased to say the challenge fully met my expectations, although I could have been less timid with the sauce's salt and less aggressive with its reduction. I loved how fresh and spicy the sauce was...completely worth the tingles and time. I'd make it again if there were a request and/or occasion. The work makes this not an every day recipe for me.

The Chili Coconut Lime Mango "Salad" I threw together for the side on the other hand I hope to eat all the time! It was super easy and I really liked the coconut's crunch, lime's tanginess, chili powder's earthiness alongside the sweet mango. It may have been a bit much orange on the plate in combination with the cheese topped enchiladas but it was worth it.

Chili Coconut Lime Mango "Salad"
Serves 4
6 Mangoes, Cubed* (approximately 4 cups)
Juice of 1 Small Lime
1 Tsp. Chili Powder
2 Tbsp. Coconut, Unsweetened (I had this kind from Whole Foods)
1 Tsp. Agave Nectar**

Directions
Cube mangoes and place in a medium bowl. Juice/squeeze the lime over mangos and toss to coat them. Measure and add the additional ingredients. Toss again to combine the flavors and serve.

* I used baby mango so I likely needed more than you would with regular ones.
**My mangoes weren't the ripest so I added this. It probably wouldn't be necessary with ones in perfect condition. 

12 comments:

  1. Yummm... Chili coconut lime mango looks and sounds awesome! And your enchiladas look delicious, also! I highly recommend homemade tortillas one day when you are feeling adventurous, too. :) Excellent job on the challenge!!

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  2. I also had a hard time roasting (stove top) and peeling the peppers, very time consuming and mine didn't turn out too pretty lol. That tropical salad looks great along with the enchiladas!

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  3. It sounds like you were successful with this month's challenge. I hope you enjoyed it. Your salad looks and sounds terrific. A perfect accompaniment to the spicy enchilada sauce. I had planned to stop by and just say hello, but I kept reading. I really like your blog and will be back as often as I can to see what else you've been cooking. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  4. WOW you really did a good job on this challenge the salsa sounds so fresh and tasty I must give it a go and the photo looks appealing. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia. I can hear your enthusiasm in the posting LOL LOL.

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  5. So glad your enchiladas were "worth the tingles and time." Your mango salad sounds like a perfect addition to your delicious stack. Thanks for cooking with us!

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  6. Your enchiladas look wonderful, and that mango salad sounds like the perfect accompaniment. I really enjoyed this challenge too!

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  7. Oh, yummo sounding salad! Looks like the perfect picnic dish. Mmmm...

    I'm not a fan of standing up in the kitchen all day either, so I totally hear you there, but that salad definitely sounds like a keeper. ;)

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  8. Great job on this challenge! I made a similar side dish but mine was mango and corn salsa :)

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  9. Well done! Love the mango salad with it, too. Wish I could find tomatillos!

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  10. Thanks so much everyone! The likelihood is high that I'll be having my mango salad again this afternoon. It has been a LONG but good weekend.

    Shelley - It's only a matter of time before I make tortillas. I love them.

    Anjelikuh - Mine were NOT pretty either. I didn't even try to capture a photo of that part.

    Mary of One Perfect Bite - Thanks so much! It's so nice to hear that you got caught up in some of my other posts.

    Audax - So glad I expressed myself clearly this time... ;) Enjoy the salsa.

    Barbara - Thank you again for hosting and I appreciated the challenge. An excuse to buy and eat pre-shredded cheese alone made me a little happy so to have the whole thing go well was even better.

    Mary (Mary Culinary) - Thank you!

    Cuppy - That's a great point about the salad. It will work well for picnics as no refrigeration is required! Yum.

    Chef d - Thank you :)

    Sarah - Maybe some will arrive in the peak of summer? I had trouble too but luckily NYC has everything somewhere. You just need the time and money to find it.

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  11. Yum that mango dish sounds delish; great idea.

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  12. Taste of Beirut - Thank you. Being creative is fun (as long as it turns out well). ;)

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