Enchiladas rancheras

Enchiladas rancheras are corn tortillas dipped in hot oil, rolled around a filling, usually cheese or shredded chicken, and covered in salsa ranchera, a cooked sauce of roasted tomato, onion, garlic and green chile with a little cumin and oregano, finished with crumbled queso fresco, crema and raw onion. The name points to the sauce, not a region: ranchera means ranch-style, and the tomato-and-chile sauce it names is the everyday one of northern and central Mexico, the same salsa that goes over huevos rancheros. Within the enchilada family it sits between the rojas, built on dried chiles, and the verdes, built on tomatillo, and it is milder and sweeter than either because fresh tomato carries it. In Mexico it is a home and fonda dish served two or three to a plate with beans and rice; in Tex-Mex restaurants it has become a tray dish baked under melted cheese, which is a different thing.