Just before noon on May 5, 1862, French Army General Charles de Lorencez ordered the first artillery volley to be fired at Fort Guadalupe in what became known as the Battle of Puebla.
The French forces, numbering about 6,000 and consisting mostly of highly skilled light infantry, outnumbered the rag-tag Mexican forces by thousands. Their commanding general, Ignacio Zaragoza, was an experienced fighter but had no formal military training.
With smoke hanging in the air, Lorencez sent the first of three infantry waves toward the fort. The first attack was cut down by defenders firing from the wall, but during the second assault, the French breached the fortress and raised their flag above the ramparts. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Mexican forces rallied — disengaging the French foothold and at one point engaging with them on the open ground.
After the third assault failed, the French Army fled.
Locally, the defeat was a resounding blow to the French Army. Globally, as French forces were expected to run over the ragtag band of patriots, the Battle of Puebla signaled to the world that Mexico was a force to be reckoned with. A few days later, Mexican President Benito Juárez declared the anniversary of the battle to be a national holiday, known as “Battle of Puebla Day” or “Battle of Cinco de Mayo.”
Today, like St. Patrick’s Day is a time for the Irish, Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate the beauty and warmth of Mexican culture — and what better way to do that than by cooking up a storm in the kitchen?
Enchiladas are always a crowd-pleaser. The flavors and textures mingle wonderfully on the palate: savory with spicy; fresh with baked. It’s my wife, Brianna’s favorite meal, and one that she asks for on special occasions. As the primary chef in the house, I usually cook dinner before she leaves for work. This poses a challenge because, as a nightshift nurse, she’s out the door at 6 p.m. I don’t get home from work until at least 4:30 or 5 p.m. That leaves me with a half hour to prep the veggies, mix the sauce, cook the filling, mash the beans, roll the enchiladas and bake them.
I’ve learned to wash dishes along the way and multitask prep work while the stove is running. And while I’ve made the sauce and spices from scratch before, it’s easiest and fastest to just go with store-bought products (I know what you’re going to say — but I need shortcuts). And feel free to substitute any ingredients to taste.
In my opinion, recipes should always be considered loose guidelines.
So, for those who are busy among us and in honor of Cinco de Mayo, here’s a stripped-down enchilada recipe that can be made in maybe 30-45 minutes.
One lime
One tomato
One green pepper (substitute a poblano pepper for added heat)
One onion
4 ounces chicken breast
One 9-ounce can black beans
2 tablespoons butter
Six corn tortillas
Mexican blend cheese to taste
One can Old El Paso enchilada sauce
McCormick’s Fajita mix
Sour cream to taste
Cilantro to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
To begin, preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Dice the pepper, tomato and half of the onion. Thinly slice the other half of the onion. Zest and quarter the lime. Roughly chop the cilantro. Slice the chicken into strips and season with salt and pepper.
Heat a swirl of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high and cook the chicken for a few minutes on its own. Add the pepper and onion slices and cook together until the vegetables are soft, maybe 2 or 3 minutes. Meanwhile, drain and heat ¾ of the beans on medium-high in a small pot, reserving the liquid for later. Add the remaining ¼ to the skillet with the chicken and vegetables. Season the chicken, beans and vegetables to taste with the Fajita mix, salt and pepper. Add a few splashes of the drained bean liquid to ensure everything is covered with the spice blend and cook for another minute or so.
In a small bowl, combine the diced tomato, half the cilantro and diced onion to taste. Squeeze in juice from half the lime and, if desired, add a pinch of lime zest and a swirl of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside. Back at the stovetop, turn off the heat, melt in 1 tablespoon butter. When the beans in the pot are hot, turn the heat to low and mash them with a fork or potato masher; add 1 tablespoon butter and, if needed, spoon in reserved bean liquid until the beans are smooth. Turn off the heat.
Next, arrange six to eight tortillas on a flat surface and evenly spread each with the mashed beans, until there’s none remaining. Distribute the chicken, veggies and bean mix to one side of each; fill the other with cheese and roll the tortillas into tubes. Arrange them in a row in an oven-safe baking dish, making sure they don’t unroll. Generously pour enchilada sauce over the top of everything. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake until the cheese is bubbly, maybe 5 minutes.
While the enchiladas bake, combine sour cream to taste with lime zest and salt. Add cold water a little bit at a time until it’s a drizzling consistency.
Remove the enchiladas from the oven and top them with the Pico de Gallo. Drizzle the sour cream-lime sauce over everything and top with remaining cilantro. Serves two to three people.