Trying to create a green chili sauce

[gfron1]

Calling all sauciers!

I have two items on my menu that need an overhaul. One is our burrito which is seasoned black beans, roasted zucchini, traditional salsa and roasted green chiles. The other is our pannini with bacon, cheddar and roasted green chile. Both are good, but I find both to be dry.

I want to create a sauce for the green chile that I can put in both. It needs to be able to stand up to a pannini grill, and not be so oozy that it squishes out of the tortilla. But it also has to be able to be made on Tuesday and survive through Saturday.

I've considered a homemade mayo base, a bechemel, a simple butter base, but nothing feels like it would work. Suggestions? there's a free sandwich or burrito in it for someone (must be present to win)

[Chris Hennes]

Are you specifically looking for something with that kind of texture (i.e. mayonnaise, bechamel, etc.)? My first thought was to do a traditional chile verde sauce (basically just tomatillos and chiles) and to reduce it down to get a thick enough consistency for your sandwich. It keeps for a week no problem (it also freezes with no loss of flavor/texture).

[gfron1]

I'm not limited to that texture, they're just the first things that came to mind. I just need to make sure that it feels liquidy on these rather dry items, and that it won't ooze too much.

[onrushpam]

I'd mix chile verde with Mexican crema. If it's too runny, you could add some crumbles of queso fresca. Mmmm...crema!

[John S.]

Calling all sauciers!

I have two items on my menu that need an overhaul.  One is our burrito which is seasoned black beans, roasted zucchini, traditional salsa and roasted green chiles.  The other is our pannini with bacon, cheddar and roasted green chile.  Both are good, but I find both to be dry.  . . .

Adding more chiles than is usually called for makes the sauce thicker for me. If I want to use it in the way you are wanting to I have to strain it first since it separates.

John S.

[franktex]

Calling all sauciers!

I have two items on my menu that need an overhaul.  One is our burrito which is seasoned black beans, roasted zucchini, traditional salsa and roasted green chiles.  The other is our pannini with bacon, cheddar and roasted green chile.  Both are good, but I find both to be dry. 

I want to create a sauce for the green chile that I can put in both.  It needs to be able to stand up to a pannini grill, and not be so oozy that it squishes out of the tortilla.  But it also has to be able to be made on Tuesday and survive through Saturday. 

I've considered a homemade mayo base, a bechemel, a simple butter base, but nothing feels like it would work.  Suggestions?  there's a free sandwich or burrito in it for someone   (must be present to win)

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Perhaps your take on a verde sauce using tomatillos?

[Jaymes]

Here's my recipe for stacked green chile enchiladas. My suggestion would be to find a green chile sauce that you like, set aside however much 'wet' you think you need, and then continue to simmer the remainder to reduce it to whatever consistency you desire for your panini.

Sonoran-Style Stacked Green Chile Enchiladas

Prepare your green chile sauce first:
For sauce:
12 medium green chile peppers (of course, fresh are way best, but if you must....), peeled, seeded, deveined and chopped
2 medium tomatoes (or 1 cup canned tomatoes), chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 tsp salt

Roast chiles over gas burners, or on outdoor grill, or under broiler until blistered. Put into plastic baggies and allow steam to permeate. This makes the chiles easy to peel. Remove peel, core, seeds, and visible veins. (Edit: Should have added that if you are using canned green chiles, you don't have to take this step of roasting, peeling, etc.) Chop into half-inch pieces. Place into saucepan and add tomatoes, onion, salt and garlic. Pour in enough water just to cover and simmer ten minutes. (If you wish, in addition to roasting the chiles, you can roast or grill the tomatoes, onion and garlic to give the whole thing a more smoky flavor.)

For enchiladas:
1 doz corn tortillas
2 C grated cheese (again, if you have a fave Mex cheese, use it; if not, half good quality mild cheddar and half jack)
3 C green chile sauce

Allow two or three tortillas per person. Fry tortillas quickly in hot fat just to soften, then dip into hot green chile sauce. You are going to assemble these on the individual serving plates. I usually have my plates stacked in a warm oven. One at a time, place a prepared tortilla on warm plate, sprinkle with cheeses, another hot tortilla, more cheese, top with hot tortilla. Pour over as much green chile sauce as you like for desired wetness. Serve immediately. You can top it with a dollop of sour cream if youd like. That turns it into Enchilada Suiza, a reference to the Swiss immigrants to Mexico, who incorporated dairy into many traditional Mexican recipes.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Jaymes (log)