At Mestizo, his restaurant in Leawood, Kansas, Aarón Sánchez makes an elaborate, long-simmered sauce for enchiladas. For a quick meal at home, though, he reaches for canned red chile sauce, such as one from Las Palmas. “It’s old-school, very straightforward,” he says. Sánchez sometimes adds shredded braised chicken to his enchiladas for a heartier meal.
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Recipe from Food & Wine Chefs' Easy Weeknight Dinners.
How to Make It
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread 1/4 cup of the red chile sauce in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the tortillas 1 at a time and fry over moderate heat just until pliable, about 5 seconds each. Transfer to a paper towel–lined baking sheet and blot the oil.
In a medium bowl, toss 2 cups of the shredded cheese with the scallions and 3/4 cup of the red chile sauce. Arrange the tortillas on a work surface and spoon equal portions of the cheese mixture in the center of each one. Roll the tortillas into tight cylinders and transfer them to the prepared baking dish, seam side down. Spread the remaining 1 cup of red chile sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese. Bake the enchiladas until heated through and bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.