Instructions: Made this last night and it was really good. Basic recipe from La Posta cookbook, from La Mesilla New Mexico, elaborated and altered by me. This makes whats known as "New Mexico" style enchilladas.

ENCHILLADA SAUCE: Take the dried peppers and rinse them of dirt. Roast them in a dry wok, turning frequently, over low-med till they smell roasted. Dont burn the skin too much. Break off the stems and dump out the seeds. Put in a covered pan with 2c water. Bring to boil then cook over low, covered, for about 10 minutes. Then pour peppers and its water into blender and liquify. Add salt to taste.

Heat 2 Tbs oil in a frying pan, add 1T flour and cook stirring frequently, till flour starts to brown. Pour in pepper mixture and mix. Add water if necessary to thin.

[Note: This is a very minimal sauce, without cumin or oregano. I find when youre making from scratch minimal is the way to go to bring out the flavors.]

CORN TORTILLAS: Add salt to dry masa harina. Mix masa with 1-1/3 to 1-1/2 cp warm water . Mix in well and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Form into golf ball sized balls.

Heat up a cast iron griddle over low-med heat, ungreased.

Put each ball of masa between two pieces of wax paper and press down flat with a flat-bottomed pan or bowl (or tortilla press if you want to spend the money). You wont get it as thin as store bought tortillas, but you want them a little thick. They taste better that way! Pull off the wax paper off one side. Flip tortilla onto the curled fingers of your other hand (so that remaining wax paper is now face up), then very carefully peel off other wax paper. This might take some practise. If one corner doesnt work, start at the other. (If dough repeatedly sticks, youve used too much water. If dough repeatedly falls apart, you havent used enough water.)

Cook each tortilla on the griddle, first on one side , then the other.

Dont let them get crispy.

TO MAKE ENCHILLADAS: Most recipes say you first fry the tortillas for a few seconds in hot oil then drain before going on to the next step. You can skip this step without much loss in flavor if you use home-made tortillas.

Experiment.

Dip a tortilla in enchillada sauce. Put it down in a lasagne pan. Sprinkle grated cheese and onion on it. Put another tortilla that has been dipped in sauce over the top and repeat to two or three layers thick.

At the end pour remaining sauce over top with remaining cheese and onions.

Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. Hmmmm. Comments welcome.

/EGGS

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