Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

The finished dish.

The ingredients

Making the enchiladas

Preparing to bake

Your just reward!

To me, there are few things more satisfying than enchiladas. Good friends of ours, George and Frances, got us hooked. Frances is Hispanic and is a wonderful cook. The following recipe, I’m sure, does not rise to her level, but she is surely my inspiration. Thank you, Frances!

You can classify this recipe as hearty vegetarian, filling, tasty, and nutritious. The spice level is variable according to your taste – mild, medium, or hot using chipotle peppers (which also add a hint of smokiness). It is also relatively quick and easy, especially after you have done it once or twice. As a result, it has become a regular player in our culinary rotation.

The major ingredients are black beans and cheese, but you can use the opportunity to use up random vegetables that you might have in your crisper. Mushrooms have become a favorite because they add to the hearty nature of the dish. At times we have added chopped broccoli, leftover baby spinach, or even a chopped carrot.

Here is the overall process:

1.       Sauté a soffritto (vegetable base)

2.       Create filling mix (beans and cheese and soffritto)

3.       Fill the tortillas to make enchiladas

4.       Bake until thoroughly heated

5.       Eat and enjoy!

That’s it.

Ingredients

Soffritto:

3-4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

6-8 mushrooms sliced thin

½ large sweet red pepper, chopped

½ large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

One, two, or three canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped fine (corresponds to mild, medium, or hot)

A teaspoon or two of the adobo sauce from the canned chipotle peppers

Filling:

2 15.5 oz. cans black beans, drained

Juice of one small lime

½ of a 16-19 oz. can Red Enchilada Sauce

2-3 tsp. ground cumin

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Enchiladas:

10-12 small corn tortillas

Remainder of Red Enchilada Sauce

1 more cup of the cheese for topping

Cilantro for garnish, washed, drained, and chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and cook, covered, until mushrooms express their moisture and begin to reduce. Uncover, add the red pepper and onion and sauté until onions are caramelized. Add minced garlic, chopped chipotle peppers, and adobe sauce, stir and cook for another few minutes to blend flavors.

Use a spatula to scrape all of the soffritto into a large bowl. Add the drained beans, lime juice, enchilada sauce (half of a can), and cumin and mix well. Once the filling has cooled a bit, add the cheese and stir to mix.

Prepare an 8x12” baking dish by brushing a small amount of enchilada sauce across the sides and bottom.

On a plate, place a corn tortilla and heap a generous portion of filling across the tortilla from side to side. Fold up the ends and roll to form an enchilada and place it in the baking dish. The tortilla will often tear but worry not – just tuck it into the baking dish. As we add more enchiladas, we will tuck them up close to each other and they will tend to hold each other together.

Place 8-10 enchiladas in the baking dish, keeping them aligned to one side. This will leave a gap on the other side where you can place a couple more enchiladas. (See picture).

Evenly pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with another cup of evenly spread cheese and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

(Note - leftovers may be refrigerated for 3-4 days or divided into serving portions and frozen.)

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Well, spicy is an option. But you can always crank back on the spicy ingredients (identified below) if you want it milder. But for many of us, spice is life. (In which case, you can carefully add more of those ingredients).

And this is a guilt-free chili, loaded with healthy legumes and vegetables and missing the usual meat. (Although there is nothing to keep you from using this as a base and adding browned ground beef or chicken). But try it this way at least once. You might be surprised how hearty and satisfying it is.

Once of the essential ingredients is the chipotle pepper. This adds a kick of spice and a smoky flavor. They can be found canned in the Mexican food section of your grocery store, usually packed in adobo sauce. Use a bit of this sauce as well as one of the peppers, chopped.

The recipe is very forgiving and you can modify it in many ways. It is prepared in a single pot (bonus) and consists of three basic steps:

1. Sauté a soffritto (base)
2. Add, crush, and thicken tomatoes
3. Incorporate vegetables and simmer to finish

Here goes.

Ingredients

Soffritto
4 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS ground cumin
½ tsp fresh chopped oregano or 1 tsp dried
2 TBS chili powder (less to reduce spice)
1 chipotle pepper, chopped, with some of its adobo sauce (less to reduce spice)
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and diced
1 large onion, diced
1 sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, diced

Tomatoes
1 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes with juices

Vegetables
1 15.5 oz. can pinto beans, drained
1 15.5 oz. can black beans, drained
2 cups frozen corn kernels

Optional toppings
Fresh chopped cilantro
Chopped green onions
Grated Mexican cheese

Salt
Black pepper

Procedure

Pour the oil into a large pot and heat over medium setting.

Add cumin, oregano, chili powder, chipotle pepper and stir till blended. Heat until oil mixture is hot.

Add carrots and sauté for several minutes. Then add onion and red pepper and continue to cook till softened. Add garlic and cook for another few minutes, stirring frequently. Your soffritto is now complete.

Add the canned tomatoes with their juices. Cover pot and cook for several minutes till the tomatoes have softened. Uncover and mash the tomatoes thoroughly with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon. Continue to cook uncovered, stirring, until the tomato mixture begins to thicken. The tomato preparation stage is now complete.

Add the beans and corn and stir well. Simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Serve in individual bowls with any of the optional toppings. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Buon appetitto!