There’s a Reason This Chicken Enchilada Pie is a Family Favorite

Sometimes a recipe sounds so good in passing that you know you have to make it as soon as possible. That’s how we felt when we heard about Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Pie, which Modern Family‘s Jesse Tyler Ferguson concocted with BFF Julie Tanous. The two both name-checked this recipe as perhaps their favorite from their new cookbook, Food Between Friends, while chatting with Brian Hart Hoffman during our Baking School. (You can still sign up and see the dynamic duo laughing and cooking it up!)

Jesse was born and raised in New Mexico, and grew up eating the native Hatch green chiles in any incarnation possible. Green chile chicken enchiladas were, in fact, “the defining dish of my childhood,” he recalls in the book. His mom was too busy to individually roll tortillas, so she layered them. Today, he explains, “If there is ever a green chile chicken enchilada dish on a restaurant menu, you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to order it.” He is obsessed, and the sight of a green chile-chicken potpie on the menu of a closed restaurant in San Francisco led to his experimenting until he nailed the recipe for his own version, with a tortilla crust.

The result is Julie’s favorite “Jesse” recipe from the cookbook, which is devoted to modern meals inspired by the regional foods the two grew up eating. As Julie explains in the class, “It’s like a pot pie, all the creamy chicken, peas, and pot pie, but with a Hatch green chile sauce and instead of a pot pie sauce, and tortillas that we quickly fried” instead of a traditional pie crust. And don’t lose steam when you see the length of the ingredient list below. You’re going to be slathering that chile sauce on everything from grilled chicken to shrimp to pork. Along with sorghum, “It’s one of the star ingredients of the book,” the two friends agree.

Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Pie

Green chile chicken enchiladas are far and away the defining dish of my childhood. My mom would make hers as a casserole, serving it cut into big squares. Rolling up the stuffed tortillas individually was just too much work for her and it was easier to layer all the ingredients in a pan, place the pan in the oven to bake, and walk away. If there is ever a green chile chicken enchilada dish on a restaurant menu, you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to order it. On our last day during a vacation in San Francisco, Justin and I discovered a place that made green chile and chicken potpies—and it was closed! I couldn’t stop thinking about it, though. I hadn’t even tasted this pie, and it was controlling my life. When I returned home, I decided to concoct my own version. This was during my “piecrust is the devil” phase, so the end result was a bit of a disaster. It took me a few years before I thought to abandon the traditional piecrust and use corn tortillas to make the “crust.” After all, the tortillas are my favorite part of an enchilada. The filling here, made with a roux and packed with peas, carrots, and onion, keeps this dish firmly in the potpie category, while the green chile sauce and corn tortilla crust allow it to live its life as an enchilada, too. No restrictive labels here! Celebrate diversity and individuality! Do your thing, Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Pie! ~Jesse

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot, cut into ⅓-inch dice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1⅓ cups chicken broth
¼ cup whole milk
½ cup frozen peas
1 (4-ounce) can diced Hatch green chiles
1 cup diced cooked chicken (from 1 large breast or a couple of thighs)
2 cups shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheese
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup Hatch Green Chile Sauce (recipe below), plus more for serving
Sour cream

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, oregano, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook until the onion is translucent and the carrots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir until the vegetables are well coated and the flour is toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly pour in the broth, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Whisk in the milk. Simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking frequently, until thickened.
2. Stir in the frozen peas, green chiles, and chicken. Cook until warmed through, 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm while you prepare the crust.
3. Preheat the broiler.
4. Cut 6 of the tortillas in half. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. Add the whole and halved tortillas, a few at a time, and cook until they’re starting to bubble and crisp but are still pliable, 5 to 10 seconds on each side. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain and cool.
5. Place a whole fried tortilla in the center of a 9-inch pie pan. Arrange 6 tortilla halves, curved side up, around the sides of the dish, slightly overlapping each other and the center tortilla. Sprinkle ½ cup of the shredded cheese over the tortilla crust. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and starting to brown.
6. Arrange the remaining halved tortillas, curved side up, around the edge of the pie dish, slightly overlapping the lower ring of tortillas. Spread the filling over the cheesy tortilla crust, then fold the outer ring

Hatch Green Chile Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
3 (4-ounce) cans diced Hatch green chiles

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and jalapeño and sauté until soft and translucent but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth and green chiles and stir to scrape up any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan.
2. Carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor or high-speed blender and puree until completely smooth. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container. (Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer up to 3 months. I like to freeze small batches in ice cube trays or zippered plastic bags.)

Reprinted with permission from Food Between Friends: A Cookbook, by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Julie Tanous. Clarkson Potter, 2001. All rights reserved.