Enchilladas Suizas with Mexican Cole Slaw

The Battle of Puebla

If you want to know what the single most viewed page in all of Chewing the Fat's history, this is it. This sensational recipe for Enchiladas is hundreds of page views ahead of anything else. The second recipe on the page, the one for Mexican Cole Slaw, is certainly reason too for its popularity. Our records show hundreds of searches for the dish that have wound up on these pages. So with Cinco de Mayo coming up this weekend, I wanted to share these two great dishes and wish you "Feliz Cinco de Mayo". And I wanted to share a little of the fiesta's history with you. So here goes:

Cinco

de Mayo, the celebration of all things Mexican, isn’t really celebrated in

Mexico. It is true that it commemorates

the defeat by the Mexican Army of French troops in the Battle of Puebla on May

5th 1862. However, only the

state of Puebla shares the party spirit that is such a part of Cinco de Mayo in

the US. The rest of Mexico waits until

September 15th to celebrate their Independence Day. So how did Cinco de Mayo get to be an

American tradition? Apparently the

holiday was created spontaneously

by Mexicans and Latinos living in California during the American Civil

War. They supported the fragile cause of

defending freedom and democracy by celebrating the unlikely victory by a

Mexican Army over the greater fire power of France. Who knew?

Cinco de Mayo even has its own US Stamp

Regardless of which

side of the border you are on, Cinco de Mayo is a great opportunity to

celebrate with something distinctly Mexican to eat. And Enchiladas fill the bill although this

recipe has a somewhat more international background.

The word “Enchilada” actually means

‘dipped in chili’. Enchiladas

are sold on many a street corner in Mexico.

They are truly street food.

However, they have since ascended to the menu of virtually every Mexican

restaurant in the world. One of the most well-known of all Enchilada

recipes came from two Gringo’s restaurant kitchen. And it has little in common with its street

food cousins. For one thing, it’s

milder, with far less heat and it’s more luscious—a creamy cheesy sauce gives

it its name “Suiza” which means Swiss.

How it came to be is an interesting story.

The original Sanborns opened in "The House of Tiles"

At

the turn of the 20th century, seeking his fortune, a young

California-born pharmacist arrived in Mexico City. His name was Walter Sanborn. He was joined several years later by his

brother Frank. The two hermanos opened an eponymous Farmacia

called Sanborns. (Since there are no

apostrophes in Spanish, they didn’t use one).

The Farmacia was a huge success in large measure because the brothers

sped prescriptions by bicycle messengers to their customers. At the time, the Mexican pharmacy system

could take weeks to get prescriptions to their intended recipients. What’s an enchilada doing in a pharmacy, you

might well ask. Sanborns first started

serving food to keep their own employees on premises instead of having them

rush home for lunch and a siesta. Before

long, customers were clamoring for their food. The restaurants were soon responsible for 45 %

of Sanborns revenue.

Does this look like a pharmacy to you?

Sanborns was a must stop for American

tourists, including me as a very young boy in the 70s. I can’t say that I had their Enchiladas

Suizas. But I went to find a recipe to

write about for Cinco de Mayo, I realized it has a lot going for it. It’s incredibly easy to make. Not to go all Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade on

you, I used part of a rotisserie chicken.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients then pour over vinaigrette dressing.

Toss and chill 'til serving. Keeps well in the refrigerator for several days.