Cheatin' Chilaquiles

The value of this recipe is convenience. There are excellent chilaquiles-from-scratch recipes out there, and then there's this one. But it is good and comforting and incredibly easy, and a great use for leftover cooked chicken.

The way I make chicken stock, I always have lots of cooked chicken meat left over, and I make this or an amazingly good chicken-butternut squash-chanterelle pot pie that I haven't had time to make in a while. I am optimistic that someday even MZ will eat this, it has all the right flavors but is still a bit too casserole-y for self-feeding.

This is not a spicy dish, to our tastes. I much prefer to add the picante at the table, either in the form of Valentina, or Marie Sharpe's if you're a real chile head. This dish will easily feed 6 adults, and makes great leftovers.

20 corn tortillas
1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
2 T canola oil
1 28-oz. can Las Palmas green chile sauce
1 7-oz. can Herdez salsa verde
1/4 c. water or chicken broth
1 Bay leaf
1.5 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup crema or sour cream
3 T chopped cilantro
1/2 cup grated Jack or other good melting cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly brush dry tortillas on one side with canola oil, stacking them oiled-to-non-oiled sides. Divide into stacks of 5 and cut into 6 wedges. Spread on a foil-lined jellyroll pan and bake, stirring occasionally, till crisp and browned, about 15-20 minutes. Increase heat to 400 degrees and set chips aside.

Meanwhile, saute onion in oil in a small Dutch oven. Don't skimp too much on the oil, because you want to fry the sauce when it's added. When the onion has softened, increase heat to high and add the bay leaf, sauce, salsa and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the chicken, stir and cook to heat through, then add the crema and cilantro. Remove sauce from heat.

Scatter chips in a lasagne pan, pour sauce over and stir slightly to work the sauce into and under the chips. Top with grated cheese, bake for 15-20 minutes till heated through, then place the pan under the broiler until the cheese browns a bit. Serve with hot salsa on the side.

Enjoy with beer. My favorite for this and most Mexican food is Negra Modelo.

Riff references: Rick Bayless