1 pint sour cream
Heat tortillas on a hot griddle and keep warm under a tea towel. Or heat the tortillas in oil and drain well on paper towels. Mix one cup of the chile sauce (see [page 15] for recipe) with the chicken. Put ¼ cup of the chicken mixture on each tortilla and roll it up. Place in an oblong baking dish. Cover the enchiladas with the grated cheese. Add the onion, if desired, and salt to taste to the remaining chile sauce and pour over the enchiladas. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Smother with sour cream and return to oven for 10 minutes, or until everything is hot. Serve immediately. Serves 6.
POSOLE SANDOVAL
Posole is whole hominy, and in New Mexico it is cooked with pork into a thick stew. The first time you taste it, you may be unimpressed. The second time, well, you think that perhaps another helping would go down well. The third time—you’re hooked. Like the rest of us, you won’t think that Christmas Eve or a feast day of any kind is complete without a big bowl of steaming posole. Richard C. Sandoval, who grew up in Nambé, prepares his holiday posole this way. Richard uses frozen posole, but if you can’t find that, perhaps you can find dried posole. Failing that, you might make do with canned hominy, which, of course, won’t need to cook as long as the other varieties. But, as Richard points out, it won’t taste as good, either!
2 pounds frozen posole
2 pounds pork roast, cut up
dash of oregano
3-4 dry red chile pods, broken up
salt to taste
Rinse posole well. Put posole, oregano, and chile pods in a large pot. Add cold water to about 2 inches above the corn. Heat to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Add the meat, reduce heat, and simmer for about 3 hours, until meat is cooked and kernels are soft but not mushy. (You might need less time at lower altitudes than Santa Fe’s.) Stir frequently and add water as needed. Salt to taste at end. Serve in bowls and pass the chile sauce. Or use as an accompaniment to a dinner of enchiladas, tamales, frijoles, and chiles rellenos.