Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 3 poblano peppers
• 1 large onion
• 1.5 lbs tomatillos
• 1–2 serrano peppers
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 cups stock
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp oil
• 16 corn tortillas, preferably homemade
• 8 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1 cup crema

Method

Char the poblanos, onion, tomatillos, serranos and unpeeled garlic cloves directly under a high broiler, 20 cm from the element. Tomatillos soften and blister first — about 8 minutes — so remove them when the skin splits and the flesh yields to pressure. Keep the harder vegetables in the heat for another 2 minutes until the poblano skin blackens in patches and the onion develops deep char at the edges. The garlic will feel soft when pressed; that's your signal. The point of charring isn't aesthetics — it's flavour. The char concentrates sugars and introduces bitter compounds that balance the earthiness of the peppers.

Submerge the hot poblanos in a bowl of stock and peel away the papery skin under the liquid; the stock softens the skin and lets it slip off without tearing the flesh. Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve to catch seeds and char debris, then recombine it with the poblanos, tomatillos and remaining vegetables. Add the cilantro and pulse with an immersion blender until you have a rough purée — chunky, not smooth. This is your braising liquid and sauce base.

Season the chicken thighs aggressively with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large pot over high heat until it shimmers, then lay the chicken skin-side down without moving it for 6 minutes. You're searing to render the fat and build colour; undisturbed heat is essential. Flip once the skin tears cleanly from the pot surface, cook the other side for 2 minutes, then remove to a bowl. Pour the charred vegetable purée into the same pot, scraping the fond — those brown bits contain dissolved proteins that deepen the sauce — and return the chicken to the liquid. Bring to a bare simmer, partially cover and braise for 15 minutes until the thighs yield easily to a fork. Let cool, then shred the meat, discarding bone and skin.

Toss the shredded chicken with 240 ml of sauce, half the pepper jack and half the crema. Spread a third of the remaining sauce across the base of a 33 × 23 cm baking dish. Fill each tortilla with 2 tablespoons of filling, roll tightly and place seam-side down in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce and cheese, then foil, and bake at 190°C for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese surface browns and bubbles at the edges — another 8 to 10 minutes. Finish with a drizzle of the remaining crema across the top.