Chicken and Bean Enchiladas with Spicy Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Hoboken’s Champagne Papi possesses a cooking style that can most aptly be described as disorderly. Those who've had the pleasure of making acquaintances with Sean will understand. His work space is untidy, almost chaotic. Strewn with random ingredients and empty bud light platinums, his kitchen might resemble the queue for a keg in a fraternity basement more so than a place of craft and cookery.
But where he lacks in finesse, he makes up for with his knack for whipping up crowd-pleasers. I think back to some of the bangers Sean has brought to the table - sumptuous crab mac and cheese, velvety mushroom risotto, sultry steak fondue. Aside from the common denominator of lactaid, these meals share a unified strand of playfulness and passion. The boi pours blood, sweat, and tears into his meals (sometimes quite literally) and it came through this past Sunday with his take on the enchilada.
Black beans and chopped chicken seasoned with cumin, chile, cayenne, garlic powder, paprika and taco blend would provide the filling for Sean’s enchiladas. The chicken was tender and juicy - none of that sinewy weakness that a lot of chicken tends to have. Sean came correct and topped off his miniature tortilla sleeping bags with oaxacan cheese and a salsa verde that consisted of roasted tomatillos, onion, garlic and vinegar. A tad salty but the low key peppery heat from the tomatillos was notable. Instead of lingering heat, the tomatillos provided sweetness and some refreshing balance. Once assembled, Sean threw those pillows of meat and cheese into the oven and crisped until golden brown. Straightforward and light but grande flavor. In the words of Mary and Paul, good bake.