Fusion comfort cooking
If you’re looking for an inventive way to use up your roast chicken leftovers then check out Mescla’s chicken cannelloni enchiladas, you won’t be disappointed.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 4
- Difficulty: not too tricky – don’t be put off by the list of ingredients – a lot of repeat spices are used
- Ideal for: family, crowd-pleaser
Chicken cannelloni enchiladas: Italy meets Mexico
You know that feeling when you can’t decide between two amazing cuisines?
Do you go for a comforting Italian dish or bold, spicy flavours of Mexican cooking?
Why not have both?
Enter Chicken Cannelloni Enchiladas—a glorious mash-up of two iconic dishes.
This dish comes from the cookbook Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage.
Ixta Belgrage has taken fusion cooking to the next level with her mash-up of Italian and Mexican ingredients and styles.
And this dish is no different.
It’s a clever combination of creamy, stuffed cannelloni and the saucy, spiced baked goodness of enchiladas.
So, we get the best of both worlds:
The silky, pasta-wrapped filling of Italian tradition, but with a feisty, chilli-infused Mexican twist.
And the reason it works is pasta and tortillas aren’t miles apart.
They’re both vehicles for delicious fillings and can soak up sauce like nobody’s business.
The magic happens when you take that rich, mozzarella-laden (cumin twist) béchamel sauce that is normally ricotta belonging inside delicate tubes of pasta…
And wrap it in a lasagne sheet like an enchilada, then smother it with a luscious, chilli and cumin spiked sauce.
Once you’ve made this dish, you’ll wonder why these two culinary worlds don’t collide more often.
Flavours
I keep saying it, but don’t get put off by the recipe list of ingredients.
I was initially but then realised, a lot of the ingredients of spices that get used in each step.
And if you don’t feel like making the final salsa to scatter over the top… don’t.
But these ingredients do make something rather special.
Bechamel sauce with a twist
The creamy béchamel sauce with a cumin and chilli twist, adding in stringy, creamy mozzarella with your leftover chicken brings an indulgence that’s worth doing.
The salsa Roja give it more Mexican vibes and a freshness that helps cut through the creaminess, as doe the Sala Fresca.
I have totally fallen for this dish, if you can’t already tell.
And if you get hooked, and want more Mexican or Italian dishes, scroll through my blog.
But another Mexican favourite which is a great midweek meal, is Easy Chicken taco soup
Chicken cannelloni enchiladas
Ingredients
chicken
- 350 g leftover roast chicken, finely chopped (rotisserie chicken or for vegetarian version, use marinated tofu)
- 8 fresh lasagne sheets
Bechamel sauce
- 2.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 tbsp plain flour
- 450 ml whole milk
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp chipotle flakes
- 100 g mozzarella, chopped
- 1 tsp fine salt
Salsa roj
- 250 ml chicken stock or water
- 200 g passata or chopped tinned tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp chipotle flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Salsa fresca
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- good squeeze of lime juice
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt – taste first and season if it needs it
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan /200C.
Bechamel sauce
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour to get a smooth, thick paste. Cook for 1 minute, whisking continuously, then slowly pour in the milk, whisking vigorously to get rid of any lumps. Cook for 1½ minutes (keep whisking!) or until the mixture has thickened to a smooth béchamel.
- Remove from the heat and add the garlic, cumin, chipotle, mozzarella, and fine salt. Stir until the mozzarella has melted with the residual heat. Transfer half of the sauce to a bow and set aside. Stir the chicken into the remaining béchamel in the pan. Set aside.
Salsa roja
- Into a bowl combine the Salsa Roja ingredient, then pour two-thirds of it into a deep baking/lasagne dish (23 x 33cm).
Cannelloni enchiladas
- Take your fresh lasagne sheets and soften them by adding hot water to a dish and leaving them for 2 mins.Now, take one at a time and lay on a board with the longer side of the sheet facing you. Add the chicken béchamel mix (approx. 1/2 cup) and roll. Then place, seam down into the baking tray.Repeat until all of them are done, then pour the rest of the Salsa Roja over them, followed by the remaining béchamel sauce. Drizzle with some olive oil and pop into the oven for 30mins.
Salsa fresca
- in a bowl, mix together the tomatoes, chile, onion, oil, lime juice, and salt.When the cannelloni enchiladas are done, take out of the oven and sprinkle the Salsa Fresca over.
- Serve and Enjoy.
Notes
