Sunday 24 November 2013

Roast chicken leftover "enchilada" invention test

Enchiladas using leftover roast chicken and garlic naan instead of tortillas on Carole's Chatter


What do you do with leftover roast chicken.  We usually just have it cold with vegetables … but I wanted to do something completely different.  I had some garlic naan bread in the freezer and for some reason an enchilada type dish came to mind.  I have never cooked enchiladas but did know they involved tortillas.  I substituted the garlic naan for the tortillas and it worked out pretty well.

Here's what I did:

Sautee ½ an onion (chopped up) in olive oil together with a chopped chilli (add more if you like it hot), ground cumin and coriander seeds and a chopped up slice of red bell pepper (capsicum) for extra colour.  (If the naan hadn't been quite garlicky, I would have added garlic as well)

While that is gently frying, shred your chicken with two forks (then let the better half pick at the bones for a treat). Chop a spring onion (scallion).

Mix the shredded chicken up with your onion mixture.  Add a little sour cream and cream of chicken soup (just enough to get a moist but not sloppy texture).  I also added a small handful of grated pizza cheese.

Put the mixture into your naans and roll them and pop them into a lightly oiled baking dish (seam side down  - so they look pretty).

I let them sit like that in the fridge for a while, figuring that the flavours would meld that way. 

I didn't have any store bought sauce – let alone enchilada sauce so I made my own with what was on hand.  I mixed up some tomato sauce, chilli powder, a hint of a Cajun spice mix, a small amount of the cream of chicken soup, ½ a tub of sour cream and some water.

I then poured it over the top of my naan cum enchiladas, sprinkled grated cheese on top, seasoned with salt and pepper and sprinkled some paprika on it as well.  Then back into the fridge until it was time to bake it for dinner.

Chicken-enchiladas-with-garlic-naan-pre-baking-Carole's-Chatter


This is what it looked like going into the oven.

I baked it in a medium oven for about 35 minutes.

To compare it with a packet enchilada pack I made one using pork mince instead of chicken.  I did add an extra chilli.  It tasted and looked nice – but not as nice as my invented dish.  The tortillas though had a much better texture than the naan.

Packet enchiladas pork on Carole's Chatter


This is what the more mainstream enchiladas looked like.


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12 comments:

  1. Those look good! We usually make leftover chicken into chicken salad sandwich filling. That is, if I get it before my husband eats it right out of the refrigerator!

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  2. I always make enchiladas with rotisserie chicken from Costco. I've never used naan in enchiladas, what a great idea.

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  3. Improvisation at it's best! This looks delicious.

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  4. I like to used leftover chicken in soup or pasta with a cheesy sauce. The naan is a great idea in this dish.

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  5. I love your creativity and it sounds delicious!

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  6. I agree that this is awesome way to use already cooked chicken. Congrats on a successful dish.

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  7. These look delicious now I feel like mexican for dinner! Some of my best dishes have been made with leftovers trying to create another dish from the same ingredients. But they usually always turn out great all you need is a bit of imagination in the kitchen :)

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  8. Yum!! I love Mexican food and that sounds yummy! I love that you are so creative and could come up with such a great meal!

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  9. We often make something similar but I've never used naan for it. Sounds delicious!

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  10. What a fun way to experiment! Naan never lasts in my kitchen long enough to be used for an invented dish - I eat it up right away. *grin*

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  11. These enchiladas look mighty good to me! Hand me a fork please. :)

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  12. Great invention test, Carole. Leftover chicken almost always ends up one of two ways in our house - chicken soup, or a variation of spaghetti carbonara with shredded chicken and roasted walnuts added. Your dish would definitely find favour around here, so nice to find another variation to add to the repertoire.

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