Enchiladas Banderas

Enchiladas banderas means flag enchiladas, and the visual pun is the whole point. Three sauces run lengthwise across the baking dish, green to white to red, recreating the Mexican tricolor in edible form. It’s the dish you make when you want to mark a fiesta or Mexican Independence Day without resorting to streamers.

The shredded chicken filling is gently simmered in its own broth with tomato, onion, garlic and salt, then reduced down so the meat picks up flavor instead of just sitting in liquid. Briefly pressing each tortilla into hot oil before rolling is a step worth respecting. It softens the corn just enough to fold without cracking and waterproofs it against the saucy bath.

Salsa colorado is built from rehydrated dried mild red chiles, pureed and thickened with a quick garlic-flour roux for body. Salsa verde keeps it simple, just boiled tomatillos blended and warmed with sauteed onion.

Chef Tips

• Pour the three sauces in clean parallel stripes after assembly, not in patches. Sloppy edges blur the flag effect.
• Don’t fry the tortillas to crispness, just 5 to 8 seconds per side until pliable. Crispy tortillas refuse to roll.
• Toast the dried chiles for 30 seconds in a dry pan before boiling to wake up their fruity, smoky notes.
• The salsa colorado should coat the back of a spoon, not slide off. Thin with the chile cooking liquid (not water) for best flavor.
• Bake just until heated through, 25 minutes at most. Longer in the oven dries out the chicken and breaks the sour cream stripe.

Variations

• Use rotisserie chicken to skip the boiling step and cut prep time roughly in half.
• Swap salsa verde for tomatillo salsa with roasted poblanos for smokier green stripes.
• Top each diner’s plate with crumbled queso fresco and pickled red onion for a fresh, tangy finish.