From the telly to your belly, recreating recipes from television
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SKIP TO: RECIPE
Welcome to Bite Club, where we recreate iconic recipes from the screen so you can bring the telly to your belly and munch your way through all the best movies and TV shows. This week, we’re rolling up our sleeves, and our tortillas, for one of the most legendary culinary moments in TV history: the enchiladas (or rather an-chiladas) from SCHITT'S CREEK.
I'm sure you're familiar with the scene... Yes, the one that sparked the eternal question: how do you fold in cheese? Moira attempts to pass off Adelina’s cherished recipe as her own, leading to an unforgettable cheese-folding meltdown that has given us one of the show's most quotable moments. But behind the chaotic comedy, and with a little more refinement than the Rose's version, is a delicious dish worth celebrating.
Enchiladas are the ultimate comfort food, soft tortillas wrapped around a hearty filling, bathed in sauce, and baked to bubbling perfection. We’ve gone for a classic chicken and bean filling, but feel free to get adventurous and stuff them with whatever tickles your fancy.
Although this recipe is a touch time consuming, the enchilada sauce freezes beautifully, so it is perfect fodder for scaling up and stashing away for those nights when time is tight and you fancy nothing more than kicking your feet up with a comforting bite, whilst diving into your fave episode. Using a combo of dried chilli peppers of differing flavour profiles and levels of heat, helps to create a beautifully deep and complex sauce. This set of mixed dried peppers is great place to start.
Be sure to watch our video for the full step-by-step guide (no cheese-folding confusion here!) and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more foodie fun inspired by film and TV. We do hope this recipe makes Moira (or rather, Adelina) proud.
Let's cook!
ENCHILADAS
Features in Schitt's Creek S2 Ep2 "Family Dinner" at 11 mins & 41 seconds
ENCHILADA SAUCE: INGREDIENTS
4 Ancho chillies
4 Guajillo chillies
2 Cascabel chillies
(2 Arbol chillies, optional- if you like it extra spicy!)
1 onion, peeled and halved
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 tomatoes
1.5 tsps kosher salt
500 ml chicken stock (or water)
Top tip: You can find a great set of mixed dried chilli peppers here!
ENCHILADA SAUCE: METHOD
Remove the stems and seeds from the chilli peppers. Toast in a dry frying pan for 1-2 mins until fragrant. Do not scorch them! This will make them bitter.
Place the toasted peppers in a large bowl, and pour over boiling water until just covered. Leave to soak for 20-30 mins.
Meanwhile, turn up the heat in the same frying pan, and once hot, add the onion, garlic and tomatoes. Cook for about 5 mins, until charred in places.
Reserve about 200ml of the soaking liquid from the chillis, then drain them, discarding the remaining liquid. Add the soaked chillies to a food processor, along with the onion, tomato and garlic, the 200ml of reserved soaking liquid from the chillis, chicken stock (or water) and salt. Blend until smooth, forming a thick sauce.
For a smooth sauce, strain through a fine mesh sieve. Place into a saucepan, and simmer for 20-30 mins until slightly thickened and darker in colour.
CHEESE SAUCE: INGREDIENTS
300ml milk
100g cheddar cheese, grated
30g flour
30g butter
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
CHEESE SAUCE: METHOD
In a saucepan, on a medium heat, melt the butter, then add the flour and garlic and onion powders, and cook for a 1-2 mins to bloom the spices, and cook out the flour.
Slowly pour in the milk, whisking continuously. Bring to a simmer, and stirring constantly, cook for around 5 mins until slightly thickened, and coats the back of a spoon.
Turn off the heat, add in the grated cheese, and fold in the cheese.
CHICKEN AND BEAN FILLING: INGREDIENTS
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
400 g Black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red pepper, diced
1 small onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Seasoning:
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp chilli powder or chopped chilli (adjust to taste)
CHICKEN AND BEAN FILLING: METHOD
Fry the onion and diced pepper for around 5 mins until softened. Add the garlic, chilli and the seasonings and cook for 2 mins until fragrant. Add the cooked shredded chicken and the black beans, mix well and cook for a couple of mins until warmed through.
ASSEMBLY: INGREDIENTS
12 small soft flour tortillas (taco sized)
150 g grated cheese (we used cheddar), divided
Optional toppings:
Spring onions, thinly sliced
Soured cream
Jalapeños, thinly sliced
Coriander, finely chopped
Avocado, thinly sliced
ASSEMBLY: METHOD
Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan.
In a large baking dish, ladle in enough enchilada sauce to coat the bottom of the dish.
Take one tortilla, and quickly dip it on each side into the remaining enchilada sauce. Lay the dunked tortilla flat, and add a generous spoonful of the filling in the centre. Sprinkle over about a tablespoon of cheese, then tightly roll into a cigar and place seam-side down into the baking tray. Work quickly to prevent the tortilla from falling apart. Repeat with the remaining filling/tortillas, until the baking tray is tightly packed.
Drizzle over a few tablespoons of additional enchilada sauce. Reheat the cheese sauce, then pour it over the enchiladas. Top with the remaining grated cheese.
Bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown on top. Leave to cool for 10 mins before serving.
Serve with your choice of toppings. We like to do…soured cream, spring onions, jalapeños, coriander and a few slices of avocado.
