Recipe for "enchiladas-1"

NAME

     ENCHILADAS-1 - New-Mexico-style enchiladas with eggs
     This is the way my grandmother and aunt made  enchiladas;  I
     haven't  lived  in  New Mexico myself, but that's where this
     recipe came from.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)

     250 g     ground beef
     1-2        cloves garlic, minced
     5 ml      salt (or use more or less to taste)
               pepper
     5-15 ml    chili powder (to taste)
     15 ml     flour
     125 ml    tomato sauce
     250 ml    water
     2         corn tortillas
     2         eggs
               vegetable oil
     200 g     shredded lettuce
     1         large tomato, chopped
     1         medium onion, chopped
     120 g     cheddar cheese, grated

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Saute the beef over medium heat until it has  lost
               its  raw red color, chopping it with the edge of a
               spoon into small pieces  as  it  cooks.   Add  the
               garlic  and  spices  and cook another 3-4 minutes.
               Add salt,  pepper,  and  chili  powder  to  taste.
               Remember  that  the  flavor of chili mellows as it
               cooks, although it won't get less hot.
          (2)  Add the flour to the meat mixture and  stir  well.
               Add  the  tomato  sauce  and water.  Simmer gently
               (uncovered) for about 45  minutes,  until  it  has
               thickened and the flavors are blended.
          (3)  Heat about 0.5 cm of oil in a small  skillet  over
               medium-high  heat,  until it sizzles when a bit of
               tortilla is  dropped  in.   Soften  the  tortillas
               briefly in the oil, one at a time, about 5 seconds
               on a side.  (Turn with tongs, being careful not to
               tear them.)  Drain on paper towels.
          (4)  Prepare another small skillet with a small  amount
               of oil in the bottom, enough for frying an egg.
          (5)  Assembling the enchiladas  requires  you  to  keep
               track  of  several  things  at once.  Start an egg
               frying for each enchilada.   Make  sure  that  the
               yolk  is  cooked soft, not hard!  Put one tortilla
               on a dinner plate.  Cover it with  a  medium-thick
               layer  of  meat sauce.  Sprinkle chopped onion and
               grated  cheese  on  top.   Sprinkle  lettuce   and
               chopped  tomato around the edge.  Top with another
               tortilla.  Cover with more  meat  sauce,  sprinkle
               more onion and cheese.  Now top with the fried egg
               and serve immediately.

NOTES

     You can also make single-decker enchiladas, for people  with
     small  appetitites. Omit the second layer of tortilla, meat,
     onion and cheese, but don't forget the  egg.   If  you  make
     single-deckers,  you  will  need twice as many tortillas and
     twice as many  eggs,  but  the  same  amount  of  the  other
     ingredients.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy to moderate.  Time: 10 minutes preparation,
     45   minutes  simmering,  5  minutes  assembly.   Precision:
     approximate measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Vicki O'Day
     Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Palo Alto, CA
     hplabs!oday