Enchiladas are warm hugs, enveloped in
tortillas and blanketed in sauce. Wheth-
er topped with hills of cotija cheese, or a
silky salsa verde, or handfuls of herbs, the
dish is a shorthand for deliciousness. Even
the name alone — enchiladas! — becomes
a catalyst for anticipation: Comfort is in
the vicinity. It’s on the way! Everything
(or at least the next 15 minutes) could very
well turn out fi ne.
The formula is crushingly simple, with
opportunities for endless malleability:
Fried tortillas are dipped in salsa, pos-
sibly garnished with crema and cheese
and chopped onions, or served as is, or
demolished anywhere in between. But
while the dish’s origins are Mexican,
stemming back to the time of the Aztecs,
the specifi cs of your enchiladas vary wild-
ly depending on where you’re partaking.24 5.1.22 Photograph by Chris Simpson Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Sophia Pappas.
ll rapped p: Enchiladas at their best are
familiar, comforting and intensely local.
Eat By Bryan Washington
Your own enchiladas
arrive, with sizzling
cheese and bubbling
chili gravy.The enchiladas you’ll fi nd in McAllen,
Texas (frequently sauced with chili gravy),
could vary from Monterrey’s (where
they’re often fi lled with pollo guisado) in
Mexico. Mexico City’s enchiladas share
DNA with their cousins in San Antonio
and Brownsville and Galveston, but they
each retain a specifi city inherent to their
locality. As Déborah Holtz and Juan Car-
los Mena note in ‘‘Tacopedia,’’ ‘‘Every state