Stacked Chicken Enchiladas / recipe

Every year I visit friends & family in Phoenix, and every year my good friend CM and I go to my favorite Mexican place: Frank & Lupe’s.  Nestled in touristy Old Town Scottsdale amongst pretentious art galleries and overpriced jewelery stores, Frank & Lupe’s is small and authentic, with a great little patio and killer margaritas. They also serve a dish that’s now the only thing I order when I go there: Chicken Enchiladas.  Before you envision a dish straight off the Old El Paso box on the supermarket shelf, let me set the record straight. These enchiladas are not rolled (they’re stacked), there’s not a red sauce in sight (they use green chile sauce) and let’s not forget what really sends me over the edge: a fried egg on top!  When I found myself last night with all of the ingredients of this dish just hanging out in my NY fridge, I treated myself, Mom and Meatlovin’ Man to a wonderful Mexican dish of Stacked Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce & a Fried Egg.

Isn’t it awful for us Foodies when we live far away from a restaurant that we love and we crave a certain dish (my loving regards, Monsieur Poulet Supreme at Polidor)? I’m happy to report that while my recipe below may not be exactly how they prepare it at Frank & Lupe’s, it came pretty damn close and I was making obscene noises and actually congratulating myself while eating it (obnoxious, I know, but true). Join me on my reconstructive journey…

Ingredients
* Soft white corn tortillas, “fajita/taco” size (about 5-6 inches in diameter). You’ll need 3 tortillas for each person you’re feeding.
* 1 can of green chile enchilada sauce (if not sold in your supermarket, go to a store that sells Mexican or Hispanic products)
* 1 can of refried beans
* 1 bag of shredded cheese, Mexican blend (or buy fresh Queso Blanco!)
* Cooked chicken, shredded into small pieces (about 1-1/2 cups per person you’re feeding)
* Eggs: 1 per person you’re feeding
* Mexican crema, or sour cream, for garnish
* Salt & pepper
* Cooking spray

Directions
Because you won’t be rolling the tortillas, instead laying them flat, you’ll need significant oven space & cooking dishes. I made this for only 3 people and had to use a 9×13 glass casserole dish plus a square baking dish. Spray the bottom of the pans with non stick cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place a tortilla into the casserole dish and schmear with a little refried beans using the back of a spoon. Top the beans with about 3/4 cup of shredded, cooked chicken (pre-cooked rotisserie from the supermarket is just fine for this dish!). Top the chicken with a handful of shredded Mexican blend cheese. Open up the can of green chile enchilada sauce and pour it into a shallow bowl. Grab a tortilla and bathe it in the sauce, coating both sides very well.

Place the coated tortilla on top of the cheese, then repeat: beans, chicken, cheese, and another coated tortilla. Sprinkle a little more cheese on this 3rd and final tortilla. Create these stacks for each person you’re feeding.

Put into the oven and bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes, until things are bubbling but not burning. When you have 5 minutes left, put a non-stick skillet on the stove and heat on Medium High, spray with cooking spray and crack eggs into pan to create a sunny-side up fried egg (or lightly flipped, if you like). The point is to have the yolk still wet enough to ooze out all over the enchiladas, so don’t overcook!

Plate the chicken enchilada, place the fried egg on top, sprinkle with a little salt & pepper and serve along with the Mexican crema or sour cream as garnish.

This is a very filling dish once you start eating it, so I don’t serve it with anything else, although you could certainly do some traditional rice on the side, or veggies. You may also like it a bit “wetter” in which case just heat up the remaining green sauce in a pan on top of the stove and pour it over the dish. And if you ever go to Scottsdale, go for the real deal at Frank & Lupe’s. Have a margarita for me!