Fire up the grill to make one of my favorite recipes of all time, Corn and Hatch Chile Enchiladas. I used corn from a local farm stand and peppers from my garden, making for an especially delicious and nutritious meal. Homemade watermelon salsa and guacamole balance out the heat and make for a truly amazing bite.
Hatch chiles are fairly mild green chiles from New Mexico, ranging in heat from poblano-level heat to jalapeño-level heat. They are only available at certain points in the year. Substitute with poblanos, Anaheim chiles, or your favorite milder pepper.
I started by grilling my chicken. Save time by using rotisserie chicken or frozen grilled chicken breast.
I then prepared my chile sauce. Get a nice char on the peppers and onions to impart a great smoky flavor. Remove the skin and seeds (optional) and blend until smooth. Then cook down with chicken stock.
It’s now my favorite part of this recipe: time to build the enchiladas! Pour about 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a grill-safe pan. Dip corn or flour tortillas in the sauce before filling with chicken and vegetables. It’s a Renaissance Dan recipe. Therefore, it’s customizable. Add whichever vegetables you want. I want for corn, zucchini, and black beans. Place enchiladas seam side down and top with cheese.
I grilled these enchiladas over high heat for about 10 minutes to melt and brown the cheese. Broiling would also work well. It was 90° outside, so I didn’t want to turn on my oven.
Serve with homemade guacamole and homemade watermelon salsa. This meal is restaurant quality.
Chicken, Corn, and Hatch Chile Enchiladas
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Tex Mex, MexicanDifficulty: Easy8
1 enchilada45
minutes35
minutes420
kcalIngredients
- Enchilada Sauce
1 lb hatch chiles
2 jalapeños
1 yellow onion, quartered
2 bell peppers
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp agave
salt to taste
- Chicken
2 chicken breasts, butterflied
2 tbsp tajín
2 tbsp cumin
olive oil spray
- Enchiladas
4 ears corn, shucked
1 zucchini, cut in half and sliced
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 mini flour or corn torillas
Directions
- Sauce
- Preheat grill, and place chiles, jalapeños, bell peppers, and onions over high heat. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until charred.
- Place peppers in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, letting sit for 15 minutes.
- Peel the peppers and remove their seeds.* Blend with onions, chicken stock, agave, and salt to create a smooth sauce.
- Place sauce over medium high heat and reduce for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Chicken
- Spray chicken breasts with oil, and coat both sides with tajín, cumin, salt and pepper. Let marinate, refrigerated, for at least 30 minutes.
- Place the chicken breasts in the center of the grill, over low heat. Have outer burners on high to cook using the indirect heating method.
- Cook about 7 minutes on both sides, or until an instant thermometer reads 165ºF.
- Let rest for 15 minutes before shredding with 2 forks.
- Enchilada Assembly
- Grill corn and zucchini slices over medium-high heat. Cook corn 8 minutes turning halfway through, and cook zucchini 3 minutes on each side.
- Place 1/2 cup of sauce on the bottom of a sprayed, grill-safe or oven-safe skillet.
- Dip tortilla in remaining sauce. Place chicken, beans, corn, zucchini, and 2 tbsp cheese in the center of the tortilla.
- Roll, and place seem side down. Repeat for remaining 7 tortillas.
- Top with remaining sauce, corn, and cheese.
- Grill over indirect heat for 10 minutes, or broil for 3 minutes. You want the cheese to be nice and golden brown.
- Top with red onion, avocado, fresh parsley and cilantro, and lime juice. Serve with greek yogurt or sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Wear gloves to prevent peppers from burning skin, eyes, or… elsewhere…
- Feel free to adjust spice level by adding in different peppers or leaving in the seeds.
