Guanajuato Enchiladas Mineras (or Guanajuato Miner’s Enchiladas) hail from Guanajuato, a central Mexico state renowned by its high mining activities, mummies (yes, you read that right; there is a world-famous museum there where the only permanent exhibition are real mummies) and beautiful Colonial towns. That is where picturesque San Miguel de Allende, home to many American expats, is located.
Anyway, I digress. Wives started preparing this dish centuries ago for their husbands to eat after a long, harrowing, work-day in the mines. These enchiladas are traditionally meatless, filled with cheese, and garnished with lettuce, pickled Jalapenos, carrots, potatoes and more cheese.
The soft corn tortillas are dunked in a Guajillo sauce and then quickly fried, stuffed and garnished. Just like with any other dish, there are some variations out there. Some people fill the Guanajuato Miner’s Enchiladas with chicken or pork. We will stick with the traditional preparation. This is a great dish for meatless Mondays. And doesn’t it make your heart sing that you get all your nutrients in just one dish? Indeed, even your veggies!
These Enchiladas depart method-wise from the traditional recipes you already know. How? Well, mostly because other recipes call for filled and rolled-up tortillas that are then smothered in a red or green sauce, and topped with cheese and/or cream. However, in the case of Guanajuato Miner’s Enchiladas, like I said above, the sauce goes directly to coat the tortillas. And then we fry them and fill them.
The sauce is also different in that is does not call for either tomato or tomatillo. It is basically a mixture of Guajillo chili peppers, garlic, spices and enough water for the blender to run and process the ingredients. The result will be a thick sauce that coats well the tortillas as you dunk them. Also, it sticks well to them as you fry them. The sauce goes a long way too, as you can add a tad of water to make it runnier and coat all your tortillas.
There is no need to worry that the Guajillo sauce will be too piquant. Guajillo chilies are famously extremely mild. Oh, but they are anything but bland, as they impart a delicate smokiness to everything they touch!
Guanajuato Miner’s Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 6 units large dried Guajillo chilies trimmed, seeded, and soaked in hot water for 10 minutes,
- 2 units large garlic cloves peeled
- 3/4 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tbsp ground oregano
- 1/4 cup water
- 12 units soft corn tortillas
- enough pork lard or vegetable oil to fry the tortillas
- 2 units large Russet potatoes peeled, cooked, and cut into small cubes
- 4 units large carrots peeled, cooked, and cut into small cubes
- 12oz crumbled Mexican Queso Fresco or Ranchero
- 2 cups rinsed and shredded Romaine lettuce
- Pickled, sliced Jalapenos (Rajas) for garnish
Instructions
- Make the sauce: in the blender, combine soaked Guajillo chilies, cumin, oregano, garlic, and a bit of water (you can use some of the chili soaking water) and blend until smooth. In a skillet, add lard/vegetable oil and fry the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes.
- While the sauce fries, cook the diced potatoes and carrots in a separate skillet, in a bit of lard/oil, until cooked (around 5 minutes).
- Dip each tortilla in the guajillo sauce. In the skillet where you fried the potatoes and carrots, heat more lard/oil and fry the Guajillo-coated tortillas. If you start to run out of sauce, add a bit of water to it and mix well, just enough so that all the tortillas are coated. Stuff with the crumbled queso fresco or ranchero immediately and fold in half, into half moons. Arrange the Enchiladas Mineras on a plate and top with the shredded lettuce, the fried vegetables, some more crumbled cheese and garnish with a few slices (rajas) of pickled Jalapeño chiles.
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