Chicken Chiaquiles Colorado

Facing the wall of dried chiles at Brito Supermarket at 5735 Buford Hwy was awe inspiring. So many choices! I had to stand there for a while trying to grasp the culinary sophistication of the making of a red chile sauce... Now I know why everyone has their own secret recipe.

After a little research and the making of this sauce a couple of times, I decided this one was the best for my family. Not too spicy and not too bitter. I used this sauce for a chiaquiles dish that my family just loved!

Chicken Chiaquiles Colorado

4 8” flour tortillas, cut into 1” strips and fried in oil until golden, salted and drain on paper towels

4 cup of pulled chicken warm

2 to 3 cups of Colorado Sauce (recipe follows)

2 cups of Oxaca Cheese, shredded

Chopped cilantro

1 cup of feta shredded

Lime Crema (recipe follows)

Sliced avocado

Instructions:

Chiaquiles are similar to the Tex-Mex layered Nachos in the sense that the dish is layered and melted under a broiler.

On a plate set or sheet pan, later the ingredients for each portion: start with golden tortilla strips, add chicken, then Colorado sauce then the Oxaca cheese. Melt under a broiler. 

Top with cilantro, a sprinkle of feta, avocado and drizzle with the Lime Crema.

Lime Crema

2 Tbsp lime juice

Zest of one lime

6 Tbsp crema (Mexican sour cream)

Instructions:

Mix everything together. That's it. 

Colorado Chile Sauce

1 quart of low-sodium chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can of fire-roasted tomatoes

2 dried Ancho chiles

3 dried New Mexico chiles

2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp black peppercorns

½ med. onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic

Instructions: 

Cook the dried chiles in a cast iron skillet until lightly toasted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Set the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set a weighted smaller bowl on top to submerge the chiles for 30 to 45 minutes until they are soft.

In a medium sauce pan heat the chicken broth and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. When chiles are soft, pull off stems and remove seeds and ribs by rinsing with water.

Puree the chiles, chipotles, cumin, coriander, peppercorns, onion and garlic and 1/2 cup of the broth in a food processor to form a smooth paste add to the simmering broth & tomatoes. Whisk well.

Either use an immersion blender or a countertop blender (careful with hot liquid – can blow the top off of the blender while blending if you don’t hold it down with a kitchen towel – puree only small amounts at a time) and puree the sauce again until smooth.

Simmer for 30 minutes. Leftover sauce will keep for several days in the refrigerator.