Recipe: Chilaquiles Azteca

This recipe gives directions for making individual portions in eight 1-cup baking dishes or 1 large baking dish.

CHILAQUILES AZTECA

8 corn tortilla
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 pasilla dried chile pods
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup crema Mexicana or sour cream (see note)
4 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup onion, chopped
1 large tomatoes, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 2/3 cups Panela or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (see note)
2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into strips
1/4 cup Enchilado, crumbled, or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (see note)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush tortillas with oil; cut into 3/4-inch strips. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes, until crispy. Divide into 8 portions and crumble 4 of them; set aside.

Soak chile pods and garlic in hot water for 20 minutes. Remove from water and rinse under running water, removing stems and seed from chiles. In blender, puree chile pods and garlic with chicken broth.

In small bowl, combine chile-pod mixture and crema Mexicana or sour cream.

To assemble:
Grease 8 heat-proof, 1 cup baking dishes*. In each, layer 1/2 portion crumbled tortilla chips, 1/2 cup chicken, 1/8 of the onion and tomato, 1/3 cup Panela cheese and several strips of chiles. Top with remaining 1/2 portion tortilla strips in crisscross pattern. Pour 1/8 of the chile-pod sour cream mixture over everything. Sprinkle with Enchilado cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

*Or grease a 7x11-inch baking dish. In it, layer ingredients as directed for individual dishes. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 8 servings.

Note: Cream Mexicana is a little thicker than regular sour cream. Mexican-style cheeses-Panela, a soft cheese, and Enchilado, a firmer cheese-are available in markets' Hispanic specialty sections.