Mexican · Authentic-ish Mexican
Enchiladas Rojas
518 kcal a serving, against 881 for the traditional version. That is 363 kcal off, or 41%, with 49.5g of protein. Serves 4. 45 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Corn tortillas fried briefly in vegetable oil, drenched in a smooth sauce made from ancho and dried chillies. Stuffed with rich chicken thigh, rolled, and baked under a thick blanket of melting cheese and soured cream.
What changed, and what each change costs
600g of chicken thigh and 60g of vegetable oil swapped for 600g of chicken breast and no oil at all
Frying the tortillas in oil adds massive amounts of fat to the plate before you even look at the filling. Dry-toasting them does the job of making them pliable. Swapping the thigh for breast meat cuts the fat inside the roll.
What it costs you. Frying creates a barrier that stops the tortilla dissolving in the sauce. Without the oil, your tortillas will crack a bit and go softer in the oven. This is the first compromise you'll notice.
200g of melting cheese and 150g of soured cream swapped for 80g of cheese and 100g of zero-fat Greek yoghurt
A huge pile of cheese masks the flavour of a good chilli sauce. Using just enough cheese to get a browned top saves you hundreds of calories. The Greek yoghurt brings the sharp tang you need to cut through the heat.
What it costs you. Call it a sharper and far leaner plate of food rather than a gooey, cheese-heavy feast and you'll be about right. The yoghurt won't melt into the sauce like real crema does, so you lose that rich, velvety finish.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 881 | 518 |
| Protein | 52.4g | 49.5g |
| Fat | 48.3g | 14.2g |
| Saturated fat | 17.6g | 5.3g |
| Carbohydrate | 61.3g | 48.6g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 5.9g | 9.6g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Mexican prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. milk.
The method is in the book
You can't expect the tortillas to hold together perfectly without that fried barrier. They're definitely softer and a bit messier to eat. But I love this version of the dish. You get the deep, smoky heat of the ancho chillies and a massive hit of tender chicken, and there's no pool of orange grease at the bottom. That's a trade I'll happily make.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Mexican, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback