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Acapulco Chicken Enchilada

A Mexican-style chicken enchilada with scallions, almonds, olives, and a tomato-based sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Acapulco Chicken Enchilada

Oven350
Time15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. In a small bowl, toss together chicken, scallions, and almonds.

  2. Sprinkle on salt, then mix and set aside.

Make the sauce

  1. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, then add onion, bell pepper, and garlic.

  2. Sauté until vegetables are soft, then stir in tomato paste, water, chili powder, salt, and oregano, and blend well.

  3. Lower heat, then cover and simmer 5 minutes.

Assemble and bake

  1. Preheat oven to 350.

  2. Lightly oil a casserole dish.

  3. Dip a tortilla in hot sauce until partially saturated, then place the tortilla in the casserole dish and fill with ⅛ of the chicken mixture.

  4. Top with 1 tablespoon sour cream, then roll into an enchilada.

  5. Place in dish seam side down.

  6. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

  7. When the casserole is filled, drizzle remaining sauce over the top, then sprinkle with cheese and olives.

  8. Bake 15 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

846Calories
66 gProtein
34 gFat
73 gCarbs

Counts 16 of 17 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 16 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Tortilla1 medium flour (45g)140
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Olive1 large (4g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Clove + oreganotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together556 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken
Provides the main protein and bulk of the filling.
Tomato paste
Forms the thick, flavorful body of the sauce and adds savory depth.
Sour cream
Adds richness and moisture to the filling.
Cheddar cheese
Melts over the top to add fat, savory flavor, and browning.
Corn tortillas
Hold the filling and soften in the sauce to form the enchilada wrap.
Almonds
Add crunch and nutty texture to the chicken filling.

The step that matters

Dipping the tortillas in the sauce. Tortillas must be partially saturated so they soften and roll without cracking, but not soaked, or they will tear and turn mushy during baking.

Swap the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, onion, pepper, garlic, clove, tomato, oregano):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Black-eyed peafits better
  4. Almondthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, onion, pepper, garlic, clove, tomato, oregano. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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