We celebrated Cinco de Mayo (quarantine style), with scratch made GF Chicken Enchiladas and corn bread for dinner. I would not normally make flour tortillas or enchilada sauce from scratch - enchiladas are one of my quick to pull together weeknight meals - Buuuut we are in unprecedented times, and GF tortillas (among other GF items) have been hard to come by. This morning's Instacart order brought me a package of Sweet Potato GF Tortillas (not terrible, but probably not so great in Enchiladas) and 2 cans of plain tomato sauce, instead of my Frontera Enchilada sauce. Sooo, Enchiladas from scratch it is! Really, it didn't take me all that long and the results were delish.
If you have followed me on social media recently, you know that I have had some struggles (ok, epic fails) in GF tortilla making. I have tried several recipes that just didn't work - so frustrating! I recently saw GFJules post some pretty perfect looking tortillas and I shared my struggles with her. She advised me that it likely wasn't the cook (phew!) or the recipe, but the flour I was using. Most of the store bought 1:1 blends are too gritty for a flour tortilla. She assured me that if I used her proprietary GFJules flour blend, and her recipe, that I would have success. Her flour is quite different from the usual 1:1 like King Arthur & Cup4Cup because she uses white rice flour vs brown rice, and the lighter starches like tapioca and potato starch are the first ingredients. Check it out for yourself here. If you do purchase GFJules flour, I would advise using it specifically with her recipes (she has MANY wonderful, tested recipes available for free on her website) because it is so different from the other's on the market.
The GF tortilla recipe was a success - finally! I prepped the dough in the afternoon and left it to rest according to the recipe instructions. Check out the recipe here. One last little warning - do not try this with any other 1:1 flour. You will be disappointed, and I would like to spare you from that (and the wasted flour) cuz I've been there and it's not fun! Conversely, you may not have success if you sub GFJules flour 1:1 into your favorite recipes that call for all purpose GF flour.
This dough was really easy to prepare. It consists of flour, shortening ( I used spectrum non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening), salt and water. I used my Cusinart food processor to mix the dough.
What surprised me the most about this dough was how thin I was able to roll it out without it crumbling or sticking. This was quite different from every other version I had tried.
My tortillas were not as perfectly round as in the photos from the original recipe, BUT they were soft and flexible (YAY). This made it easy to roll them up with the filling.
Makes 8 tortillas
After prepping the tortilla dough, I got to work on the filling!
This Instapot shredded chicken is the easiest method for making perfectly tender shredded chicken. I often make extra so the I can use it in multiple meals throughout the week.
Find the recipe here. You will need:
Chicken Breasts (recipe calls for 4lb, but I used just under 2 lb / 3 large breasts and I had a lot leftover)
Chicken Broth
Salt & Pepper
Next the enchilada sauce! Also, super simple to prepare. I thought I would be using one of those cans of plain tomato sauce, but I found a really great "10 Minute" recipe that didn't call for it at all. Find the recipe here. You will need:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour blend) - I used Cup4Cup
4 tablespoons chili powder*
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/4 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Notes: I let this simmer for longer than the recipe called for, to let the sauce thicken. I also used only 3 Tbsp of chili powder to keep the spice down. My kids still found it a bit spicy. Next time I might add another TBSP of the tomato paste or an extra 1/4 cup of broth.
Last, the best part -the assembly!
What you will Need:
8 GF Flour Tortillas (prepared above)
Enchilada Sauce (prepared above)
Shredded Chicken (prepared above)
1 package shredded Mexican cheese blend, or sharp cheddar.
Chopped scallions and/or sliced black olives
Spoon enough of the enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan with a thin layer. Then, into the middle of each tortilla, spoon enchilada sauce, add shredded chicken, shredded Mexican blend cheese. Roll the tortilla up tight and place it in the pan. When you have filled all 8 tortillas, spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and cover with the remaining shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped scallions and / or black olives and serve.
Eat Well
~GFSavvyMama