Chicken-Artichoke Enchiladas with a Pasilla Negro Sauce #FoodieExtravaganza #CrazyforChiles #Sponsored

 This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Melissa's Produce.
I received complimentary product for the purpose of review and recipe development,

but all opinions are honest and they are my own. This page may contain affiliate links.

A little while ago, I decided to host an enchilada event for Cinco de Mayo and asked some of the other Festive Foodies to join me. Then I reached out to my contacts at Melissa's Produce to see if they would want to sponsor the event. They did!

A group of us received an amazing array of dried chile peppers to develop some recipes ahead of May 5th. Crazy for chiles? Yep, we are. But I'll admit: I was more than a little daunted by this box of dried chiles as I was unfamiliar with several of them.

Thankfully there is a chile temperature scale on the upper right hand corner of each package. So, I tested them in different versions of my homemade enchilada sauce. The one that was the favorite - with my boys - was the pasilla negro chile. I also stirred in some unsweetened cocoa powder that gave this more of a mole feel...without having to make a complicated mole sauce. So, that's what I decided to share for this Enchilada Extravaganza in honor of National Enchilada Day!

Here's the rest of the Enchilada Extravaganza...

An InLinkz Link-up

Ingredients

Pasilla Negro Sauce

• 5 or 6 dried pasilla negro chiles
• boiling water
• 2 t cornstarch
• dash of smoked paprika
• 1 C organic tomato sauce
• 1 C organic chicken broth (or beef is fine, too)
• 1/2 t ground coriander
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed

Enchiladas

• 4 C cooked chicken, chopped or shredded (I used braised, skinless chicken thighs)
• 1 can artichoke hearts (these are not marinated), quartered
• corn tortillas
• shredded cheese

Procedure

Pasilla Negro Sauce
Place dried pasilla negro chiles in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Weigh them down with a bowl or saucer so that they stay submerged. Let soak for 1 hour until the flesh is softened.

After an hour, slice the chiles lengthwise and remove the seeds and stem; it's okay if some seeds get in. Reserve some of the soaking water. Place the chiles in the bowl of a food processor or blender. 

Add 1 to 2 T of the soaking water and process until the chiles are broken down. Set aside.

Pour the stock and tomato sauce into a medium saucepan. Whisk in the spices, cocoa powder, and the cornstarch until there are no more lumps. Stir in the pasilla negro paste, I had about 3 T; feel free to adjust for taste as needed. Bring to a simmer and cook until desired consistency. Use the sauce for a pan of homemade enchiladas.

Enchiladas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, toss together the cooked chicken and artichoke hearts. Add a thin layer or sauce to the bottom of your baking dish. 

To assemble, place corn tortilla on a cutting board or plate.  Lay chicken and artichoke mixture in the center of the tortilla and roll it - as tightly as you can! - into a cylinder. Place it in your baking dish.

Roll as many as you can with the ingredients that you have. When your dish is packed, spoon sauce over the top. If the liquid doesn't reach halfway up the dish, fill it with water, or more broth. Cover the top with shredded cheese. Cover with foil.

Bake for 35-40 minutes - until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Uncover and return to the oven for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese is crisp along the edges.

This was a hit with my family. Now I just need to get D to stop calling it 'Mexican lasagna!'

You may find Melissa's...

on the web, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram

*Disclosure: I received product for free from the sponsor for recipe development, however, I have received no additional compensation for my post. My opinion is 100% my own and 100% accurate.