Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas with Roasted Red Pepper Chipotle Sauce

This is my type of comfort food. Spice roasted sweet potatoes cooked down and mashed with tomatoes then mixed with black beans, fresh coriander and lime juice. That’s the filling, you could just eat that on its own with spoon if you like.

But rolled up in soft flour tortillas and covered in the quick and easy Roasted Red Pepper Chipotle Sauce from my Mexican Tortilla Lasagne recipe it is divine. Not forgetting the handful of mature Manchego cheese that is grated over the top before going in the oven.

The final step of whacking it under a hot grill for 5 minutes at the end is what makes this special though. You need to give it that caramelised at the edges crispy cheese topping that is irresistible. To me anyway. You have to keep your eye on it, there’s a fine line between brilliance and burnt beyond repair.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas with Roasted Red Pepper Chipotle Sauce Recipe

Serves 4, vegetarian. Adapted from Call Me Fudge

• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 300 g each)
• olive oil salt & black pepper
• oregano, allspice, ground cumin
• 1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
•  1 Tbsp chipotle chilli sauce
• 1 tin (400ml) chopped tomatoes
• 100 ml water
• 1 tin (400 g) black beans, drained & rinsed
• 10 x 8 inch tortilla wraps
• a big handful of grated manchego cheese
• a handful of fresh coriander, chopped plus garnish
• lime/lemon juice
• sour cream, or goat’s yoghurt to serve

Preheat the oven to 200 C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Scrub the sweet potatoes well and cut into 1-2 cm dice. Put them on the baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, cumin and allspice if you have it. Toss it all together with you hands to evenly coat then spread it all out in a single layer. Roast for 15-20 minutes until tender.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and add the red onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes until softened then add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add in the cooked sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chipotle sauce and water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes to cook the tomatoes. Mash the sweet potatoes in the pan then add the black beans, stir them through and add the chopped coriander. Season with salt & black pepper and a squeeze of lime/lemon juice. Taste and adjust as required. (Try not to eat it all).

For the red pepper sauce:

• 1 jar/tin, roasted red peppers (about 200-250 gr), rinsed drained
• about 100 ml tomate frito /puree tomato/tomato passata
• 4 or 5 tsp chipotle chilli sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• the other 1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
• 4 or 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1  1/2 tsp palm sugar/brown sugar
• 1  1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (vegetarian)

Blend the drained, rinsed peppers, tomato puree, chipotle sauce, sugar, cumin & Worcestershire sauce in a food processor until smooth.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onion and a pinch of salt for 4-5 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to the processor with the red pepper sauce and blend again. Season with salt & black pepper and taste. Adjust as required.

To assemble:

Preheat oven to 190 C. You will need either one large or 4 individual ovenproof dishes. Or I used the dish in the pictures twice, this amount fed us both for two nights. The amount of tortillas depends on your dishes so just fill as many as you need.

Spread a layer of the red pepper sauce on the base of your dish(es). Take a few heaped tablespoons of the filling and lay it at one end of the tortilla (as in pictures above), roll up the tortilla and place it in the dish seam side down. Continue with the rest until your dish is full (you may have to trim some).

Tip the rest of the red pepper sauce all over the top of the wraps spreading it out evenly. Top with the grated cheese and bake for about 15 minutes. Then turn the grill/broiler on high and leave it under there for about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it though, don’t ruin it!

Leave it for 5 minutes before serving with a dollop of sour cream/goats yoghurt, fresh coriander and a wedge of lime/lemon to squeeze over. A nice green salad would be good if you need something to accompany it. And a bottle of Coronita, of course.

Buen Provecho!

Mexican Tortilla Lasagne with Roasted Salsa Verde

This is the best vegetarian lasagne you’ll ever make. High praise I know, there’s nothing like setting yourself up for a fall but I really believe it. Lasagnes are one of those meals that have been done to death, diluted and destroyed by frozen food manufacturers.

When we first opened the restaurant, one of the things that I promised myself is that we would never serve a vegetable lasagne as the vegetarian option. It is the fallback/default veggie option in many restaurants and I think it’s just lazy. Most of them are a frozen, watery, disgusting, flavourless disgrace. Enough ranting…. I also said we would never serve chips or Traditional Sunday Lunch, ha! That didn’t last very long, Sunday lunch was the best thing we ever did and chips are what the people want. It was a steep learning curve.

Black Bean Chilli with Avocado Lime Salsa

 I bought a pack of dried black beans last week because, as you know, I am doing a detox which means lots of beans, chickpeas, lentils etc. As I have mentioned before, I have got a bit of a habit of buying dried legumes and then never using them, therefore I have a cupboard full of loads of different types of dals, beans and lentils. I was determined, this time, to use them straight away because I’ve never cooked with black beans before. Not just because I couldn’t fit them in the cupboard…

I did a bit of research and found out that most people advise soaking the beans overnight before cooking them, so this is what I did. Very organised of me, I know. I think it cuts down on the cooking time. A lot of colour comes out of the beans into the water which is quite alarming, you discard this water and cook the beans in clean water or a mixture of water & stock, which is what I did.  Another tip is not to season the beans until they are nearly cooked. If you cook them in salted water it makes them tough apparently.

I had to go Mexican on the flavours here. I lot of the recipes I saw using black beans were for soup which you can easily do by adding more stock or water. I wanted something a bit more substantial for dinner. You could also serve it with some corn tortillas/nachos for scooping up the chilli and avocado salsa which would be great for entertaining. Put a big bowl of the chilli with a dish of the avocado salsa and a pile of corn tortillas/nachos and any other extras like grated cheese, sour cream, chopped spring onions and fresh coriander on the  table. Just let everyone help themselves “family style”.

Black Bean Chilli with Avocado Lime Salsa

serves 3, vegan, gluten-free

• 250 gr dried black beans (you can used 500 gr cooked just rinse and drain them and add them in with the tinned tomatoes and a bit of veg stock)
• 500 ml clean water
• 500 ml veg stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 stick celery, finely chopped
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and diced
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder (or more if you like)
• 2 or 3 tbsp chipotle chilli salsa (or chipotle chillis in adobo)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tin (400 gr) chopped tomatoes
• 150 gr sweetcorn
• 2 or 3 tbsp tomato puree (tomate frito)
• green parts of spring onion finely chopped for garnish
• coriander leaves for garnish

Rinse the beans and pick out any foreign bodies. Put them in a large bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak overnight.

Drain the beans and put them in a saucepan with the veg stock and clean water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1- 1 & 1/2 hours until the beans are tender.

When the beans are nearly cooked heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat then add the cumin seeds & coriander seeds. When they start to pop add the onion, celery, carrot and green pepper and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened and the onions are translucent then add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Stir in the tomato puree, chipotle salsa, chilli powder, ground cumin, bay leaves, oregano, thyme and tinned tomatoes. Season well with salt & black pepper and add sweetcorn.

When the beans are cooked remove two ladles full of beans and stock to a bowl or processor and blend until smooth.  If the rest of the beans are really liquidy tip out some of the cooking liquid and reserve it in case you need it later. Pour the blended beans back into the rest of the beans, stir and add into the tomato mixture. Cook for a further 10 minutes and then check seasoning. (You can add back some of the bean cooking liquid or veg stock now if you want it more soupy).

For the Avocado Lime Salsa

• 1 avocado, roughly mashed
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• the juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 red chilli,deseeded & finely chopped
• salt & black pepper
• fresh coriander, leaves & stalks, finely chopped

Mash all the ingredients together in a bowl and taste for seasoning. More lime/salt/ chilli/coriander?

Serve in warmed bowls topped with a dollop of the avocado salsa, some chopped spring onions and coriander leaves.

The black beans have a lovely flavour and a surprising creaminess which makes this a really comforting, spicy dish perfect to eat in front of the TV with a spoon or equally good for casual entertaining.

And if you needed any more incentive: Avocados are rich in vitamin E and alphacarotene, both powerful antioxidants that help prevent furring of the arteries and heart disease. They also contain monounsaturated fat which lowers blood cholesterol as well as essential omega 6 fats that promote healthy skin. People have commented on how well I look, it must be the avocados….!!

Chile Sin Carne Con Nachos y Queso

Vegetarian chilli is one of those dishes , like vegetarian lasagna, that tends to disappoint. Flavourless, watery, frozen ready meals spring to mind. This is the antithesis of that sad memory. Think healthy, colourful, packed with flavour, get up and go comfort food and you’re half way there. The toppings make it extra special and tasty, don’t skimp…!

Chilli Sin Carne Con Nachos y Queso

serves 4, vegetarian

adapted from a 101 Cookbooks recipe

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion , chopped
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 & 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 green chilli, deseeded & chopped
• 1 tbsp chipotle paste (a mexican smoked chilli paste)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (4oo ml)
• 1 – 1 & 1/2 litres veg stock
• 125 gr cooked chickpeas ( drained & rinsed)
•  about 200 gr dried brown lentils 1 cup, rinsed
• about 75 gr dried red lentils 1/3 cup , rinsed
• about 75 gr barley 1/3 cup
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano

Toppings

• nachos (corn tortilla chips)
• grated cheese (I used Cheddar & Manchego)
• fresh lime juice
• sour cream
• fresh coriander, chopped

Cook the onions & celery in hot oil over a medium heat for about 6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, fresh chilli, chilli powder & cumin and cook for another minute. Stir in the chipotle paste, tinned tomatoes and a litre of stock. Add the chickpeas, lentils and barley and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, season with the salt, pepper & oregano and simmer for 35 – 40 minutes or until the lentils are cooked. You may need to add more stock while it’s cooking.

Preheat the grill to hot and ladle the chilli into warmed bowls. Top with the nachos, grated cheese, a blob of sour cream, a good squeeze of lime juice and sprinkle with fresh coriander. Put it under the hot grill for about a minute until the cheese is melted and bubbling……

This chilli is special, you should make a lot of it. We had it for dinner, and then for lunch the next day, I added some more stock to stretch it. So we had Chilli Soup with Nachos which was also fantastic..

Remember the toppings make it. The crunchy nachos, bubbling cheese, cooling sour cream & zingy lime juice take it to another level… Enjoy!