Your Tex-Mex kitchen: Mix a margarita and make these saucy, cheesy enchiladas

How does a plate of saucy, cheesy enchiladas with rice and beans sound right about now?

We thought so: We’re all craving classic Tex-Mex — dreaming about the day we can dunk chips in queso and guac, choose our combo plate, make that all-important frozen-or-on-the-rocks margarita decision.

Why not take the enchilada by the horns? Learn a few basics, and you can satisfy your cravings at home, in high style.

Ready? Mix a margarita first and consider the plan.

The margarita

You don’t need fancy tequila, or even a cocktail shaker, to make a great classic margarita on the rocks. Fill a jar with ice, add 2 ounces of tequila, 3/4 ounce of Triple Sec, the juice of a lime and shake. Pour your handiwork into an ice-filled glass rimmed with salt. You’ll find a detailed recipe — for both a single drink and a batch — below.

Queso and guac

You probably already know how to make queso. If not, this review of The Homesick Texan’s 2017 book Queso has you covered with recipes at the end.

For guac, here’s some great news: You can actually make better guacamole at home than what you find in most Tex-Mex restaurants, where it’s often pretty bland. Combine 2 or 3 tablespoons finely chopped white onion, a finely chopped serrano or jalapeño chile or two, a couple tablespoons chopped cilantro and salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon) in a bowl. Add two ripe avocados and the juice of half a lime and mash. Add 1/4 cup chopped tomato (optional), stir to combine, adjust seasonings (adding more salt or lime to taste) and garnish with more chopped cilantro and chopped onion, if you like. Put chips in a bowl, and devour! Find a more detailed recipe here.

The enchiladas

Chicken enchiladas verdes will be the star of your plates. Depending on how much time and effort you want to put into the dish, it can be anything from super easy and pretty darn good to a little more time consuming and absolutely awesome.

For the mostly-from-scratch route, you’ll roast a whole chicken and make homemade roasted salsa verde. Both are much easier than you might think (and roasting a chicken gives you half a chicken for another use).

The reason it’s only mostly from scratch is the tortillas. It turns out that store-bought corn tortillas actually work better for enchiladas than handmade ones. (We tested the dish both ways.) To soften the tortillas enough to roll them, dip them in hot oil for a few seconds and drain on paper towels.

Shred the chicken, combine it with crumbled queso fresco or grated jack and/or cheddar (or a “Mexican” or “Fiesta” cheese mix) and roasting pan juices. Slather a little salsa verde in a baking dish. Roll a few tablespoons of the chicken mixture in a tortilla, place it seam-side down in a baking pan, and repeat with all the tortillas. Pour the salsa verde mixture over the top, sprinkle with cheese and bake.

To make a short-cut version, snag a roast chicken from the supermarket, or use leftover chicken, and use store-bought salsa verde. Rather than dipping the tortillas in hot oil, you can zap them in the microwave to soften. The result won’t be quite as melty and luscious, but it’s quicker and less messy. You decide. (I definitely dip.)

Or compromise with a middle-ground version: Pick up a roasted chicken, but make your own salsa verde, or vice-versa.

Now for the rice and beans. Most of us take Mexican rice and refried beans for granted. But now, what we wouldn’t give to dip a fork into those velvety, melty, rich beans and savor the mysterious alchemy of good Mexican rice, right? I was never inclined to make either dish at home in the past — why would I, when it’s so easy to get great versions at a hundred places around town?

The truth is, they’re both a little tricky to make. Once you learn them, though, Tex-Mex at home will be your prerogative forever.

Mexican rice

Ever wonder what gives it its reddish tint? Tomato. Chicken broth, onion and garlic give it additional flavor. Our recipe is adapted from one in Diana Kennedy’s classic book, The Cuisines of Mexico. Find the recipe here.

Refried beans

Perhaps surprisingly, refried beans are even trickier to accomplish than Mexican rice. No, you don’t have to fry them twice; you just have to fry them well. (In Spanish, frijoles refritos translates not as “refried beans,” but “well fried beans.”)

Start by making frijoles de olla from dried pinto beans. No need to soak them first, but they do take two or three hours to cook — in water with white onion and a few garlic cloves. Wait till they’re done to salt them. It’s amazing how good they taste just like that, and you could certainly serve them that way and call it a day.

I find them so delicious like that that in the past, I never went beyond that point (And they do serve frijoles de olla in many Tex-Mex restaurants, as well, in a little crock.)

However, refried beans with your rice is going to make you feel like you’re in a Tex-Mex restaurant, which is what we’re after.

My first few attempts at making refried beans did not go as perfectly as hoped. I kept getting thick, heavy mashes, rather than that creamy, dreamy, soul-satisfying treat that restaurants always nail.

For help, I consulted an expert: Anastacia Quiñones Pittman, executive chef at José. Her refried beans are some of the best in town.

So what is her secret?

“There’s really no secret,” Pittman said. “It’s manteca.”

Pork fat, that is.

At José, they use the fat that renders out when they make carnitas to sauté white onion; then they add beans that were cooked the previous day and left to cool in their cooking liquid. Once the onion is soft, they add the beans, heating them in the fat. Next they mash them with a potato masher, adding in some of the cooking liquid as they go along.

Those were all things I had done for each try, so I needed more specifics. How much to mash? How much liquid to add? “I would say enough liquid to help them move,” Pittman said. “They will get thicker as you mash, so you will add a bit more.” The consistency you’re going for, she added, is “like a hummus, but not nearly as smooth.”

I channeled chef Pittman and aimed for the hummus texture — adding quite a lot of the cooking liquid along the way. Success! If I can do it, you can too. Here’s a recipe with more details.

Once everything’s ready, serve the enchiladas, rice and beans all together. Your plate will feel like a refuge. Mix another margarita and raise a glass to Tex-Mex!

It’s so great to be able to do this at home. And how elated we’ll all be when we can enjoy sitting down at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurants once again.

Former Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Leslie Brenner, now a restaurant consultant, writes about cooking at cookswithoutborders.com.

Classic Margarita on the Rocks

Salt for rimming the glass

2 ounces tequila (blanco or silver are fine)

3/4 ounce Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice (about one medium-sized, medium-juicy lime)

Spread salt on a small plate, rub the rim of an old-fashioned glass with the cut side of a lime, then dip the rim into the salt. Fill the glass with ice and set aside.

Fill a cocktail shaker or jar with ice. Add the tequila, Triple Sec and lime juice and shake well. Strain into the prepared glass and enjoy. If you like it a little sweeter, at more Triple Sec. If you like it tarter, add more lime.

Makes one margarita.

Batch of margaritas: Fill a large jar with ice. Add 1 cup tequila, 3 ounces Triple Sec and 3 ounces lime juice and shake well. Strain into four ice-filled, salt-rimmed old-fashioned glasses and enjoy. Makes four margaritas.

Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

2 cups shredded chicken, from a roast chicken (see below), or use store-bought roast chicken or leftover chicken

Pan sauce from roasting the chicken (if you made your own)

1 cup crumbled queso fresco, or grated Monterey jack and/or cheddar cheese, or any combination, divided

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 recipe of roasted salsa verde (see below) or 2 1/2 cups store-bought salsa verde, divided

Canola or other neutral oil for softening the tortillas

12 corn tortillas

Sour cream for garnish (optional)

Heat the oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, its roasting juices (if you roasted your own), 1/3 cup of the cheese, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Taste the mixture and, if necessary, add salt to taste. If you used store-bought roast chicken or leftover chicken and it seems a little dry, add a tablespoon or two of the salsa verde. Set aside.

Spread 2 tablespoons of the salsa verde over the bottom of a baking dish. (12x8 1/2-inch is ideal.)

Now soften the tortillas. Pour enough canola oil into a small sauté pan or skillet to go a little way up the sides — about 1/4-inch deep. Heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Using tongs, dip a tortilla into the oil for two or three seconds, then turn and dip for two or three seconds on the other side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or sheet pan to drain. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Place a softened tortilla on a cutting board and place 2 or 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture down the center. Roll it up, and place it seam-side down in the baking pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas until the baking pan is full. Pour the remaining salsa verde over all. Distribute evenly, but leave the edges uncovered to get little crisp. If you like, separate the enchiladas a bit to let the salsa verde go between them. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the heat to 400 and bake 5 minutes more, so the cheese gets browned.

Top with dollops of sour cream, if desired, and serve.

Makes 12 enchiladas, enough to serve 4 to 6.

Roast Chicken

1 chicken (3 to 5 pounds)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 450 F. Dry the chicken and generously salt it and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper inside and out. Truss it if you like, but it’s not necessary.

Set a skillet on top of the stove over high heat and let it get hot. Set the chicken in the pan, breast-side-up, and immediately transfer the pan to the oven. Roast 30 minutes, then carefully flip over the bird. Roast another 15-20 minutes like that with the breast down (15 minutes for a small bird, around 3 pounds, 20 for a larger one). Flip the bird over again and finish roasting breast up for 10 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a board or sheet pan and let it rest 5 or 10 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, deglaze the pan. Pour out the fat and put the skillet on the stove over high heat. Add 2/3 cup water, and scrape up the brown bits on the bottom. Let the liquid boil until nicely reduced, about 5 minutes. Pour into a measuring cup: You should have about 1/4 cup. Use this in the enchilada filling.

About half of a 4-pound chicken makes enough shredded chicken for one recipe of enchiladas.

Roasted Salsa Verde

1 1/4 pounds tomatillos, papery husks removed, rinsed and patted dry

2-3 serrano chiles or jalapeños

1 large white onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

7 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled

1/2 cup (packed) cilantro leaves, including some stems but not too many

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 425 F. Place the tomatillos, chiles, onion slices and garlic cloves on a baking sheet (line it with a Silpat mat, if you have one, for easier clean-up) and roast them for 10 minutes. Use tongs to turn the vegetables over, and roast another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Pull off and discard the stems of the serrano chiles or jalapeños. Place the chiles, onion slices, tomatillos and salt in the bowl of a food processor. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, pop the cloves out of their skin and add them to the bowl. Purée till smooth and stir in the cilantro.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups.