Enchiladas Potosinas~San Luis Potosi Specialty

These little bites are called Enchiladas Potosinas; really more of a taco in appearance! They are the specialty that is both street food & served in fine restaurants in San Luis Potosi. We saw them everywhere we went. They are especially popular during Lent since they are meatless. Lauren, Jackie & Chris all tried them & liked them. They are found in a few dining establishments in the US but not very many because of the labor involved. The food alone in San Luis Potosi could fill many blog posts! Of interest is the fact that we went out to eat at Puebla Bonita eating establishment & they offered us meat from Carnes Laguna in Torreon. I being a Pollo chica ate a stuffed chicken breast for my dinner though:)


Enchiladas Potosinas

Ingredients
1 medium dried ancho chilli, deseeded
18fl oz warm water
13¼oz masa harina (fine corn meal)
½ tsp sea salt
1 large onion, finely chopped
corn oil for frying
10½oz feta cheese, crumbled


Method
1. First prepare the chilli by removing the seeds and cutting it into large chunks. You can do this with scissors or with your fingers. Be careful when dealing with chillies some can be hot and it is best to use rubber gloves. Add 1 cup + 1 Tbsp. of hot water and leave for a few minutes to make an infusion. Pass through a sieve until you get a smooth paste, it should be dark in colour and fairly thick.
2. Place the masa harina in a mixing bowl. Add the chilli paste (you can do this with a machine or by hand), the salt and the rest of the water. Mix until fully incorporated and the dough resembles marzipan or heavy pie dough. Leave to rest for a few minutes.
3. Sauté the onion in two tablespoons of oil and when soft and brown, mix with the feta to make the filling.
4. Make the tortillas by placing a golf ball size amount of the dough in between two sheets of plastic and flatten with a rolling pin or if you have one with a tortilla press, you should get a tortilla that is about 3in in diameter.
5. Take the tortilla from the plastic sheets and fill with about 2 Tbsp. of the filling, placed in the middle to go across the tortilla,fold in half; you should have something that resembles a half moon with the filling on one side of the enchilada.
6. Repeat the process and when you have finished, heat up some oil - in a wide frying pan. When it is smoking, place three or four of the enchiladas with the remaining tortillas and gently cook for about two minutes on each side in the oil. They will go darker orange in colour and crisp. When they are all crisp, remove from the heat and place the enchiladas on kitchen towels so that the oil drains as much as possible.
7. Serve on a bed of lettuce and eat with guacamole or salsa on top. They can be served hot or cold. Perfect as starters or as finger food. Enjoy!