My latest cooking adventure is Low Carb Enchiladas. I used the following ingredients to make the sauce:
Enchilada Sauce (makes 3-4 cups depending on thickness):
6 dried guajillo chilies (or dried ancho chilies for more spice)
7 cups of water
4 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp Goya all purpose seasoning (or season salt)
1/4-1/2 tsp of xanthan gum
I also used the following ingredients:
6-8 low carb tortillas (I made these http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-tex-mex-tortillas-and-taco-seasoning/#axzz1ry8NlppC with the following modifications:
~Used just egg whites
~No lime juice
~Added 1/4 tsp coriander
~Added 1/4 tsp season salt
2 cups of cooked chicken or beef (I used salsa chicken: http://paleoperfectly.blogspot.com/2011/03/paleo-crockpot-mexican-shredded-chicken.html)
Shredded Cheese, to taste
Diced onions and black olives (optional)
The first step is to make the enchilada sauce. This can be done ahead of time. Remove all of the seeds from the dried chili peppers. Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until the chili peppers have broken down and the sauce turns a deep orange color. Pour the mixture in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once the sauce has come to a boil reduce the heat to simmer and allow to reduce by half. Once the sauce has reduced by half add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to thicken. If the sauce is not thick enough add another pinch of xanthan gum until the desired consistency is reached.
Assembling the enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix the chicken with 3/4 cup of enchilada sauce and heat if necessary. Next, brush (or dip) the tortillas on both sides with enchilada sauce. Place a heaping spoon full of chicken onto the tortilla. Top with cheese, onions, and black olives. Roll the tortilla and place seam side down into a baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.
Top all of the tortillas with an additional 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Net Carb Count*:
Enchilada Sauce: 25 net carbs (for the entire recipe—about half of the recipe will be used to make the enchiladas)
Low Carb Tortillas: 7 net carbs (for the entire recipe with modifications–makes 4 tortillas)
*Note carb counts are estimated based on the products I used. Check nutrition labels for accurate carb counts.
Comments: I used the recipe for low carb tortillas to reduce the carb count since most packaged low carb tortillas have about 4-5 net carbs per serving. The low carb tortillas are difficult to flip and are very delicate. I used 1/4 cup of the mixture for each tortilla and carefully flipped each one to prevent them from ripping. Also I allowed the tortillas to cool slightly as they are easier to work with once they have cooled and firmed up. I just want to warn you that it is easy to get frustrated and rip the tortilla when making these so be cautious. Also, you will need a double batch for 8 tortillas.
The enchilada sauce is the way my mother makes it. She usually uses bacon grease and flour to thicken the sauce, but I replaced it will xanthan gum. If you don’t use xanthan gum then make sure you allow the sauce to reduce even more to thicken (would make 1.5-2 cups). I found the chilies at my local grocery store in the international foods aisle (picture below). These peppers weren’t very spicy, but using ancho chiles or leaving some of the seeds will make it spicier. Also, replacing some of the water with low sodium chicken broth would also probably be good, but be careful as this might make it too salty.
This was a perfect recipe to satisfy my craving for Mexican food. Yum!
