Sweet potato black bean enchiladas with red pepper sauce recipe

This sweet potato and black bean enchilada recipe is a favourite in the Getaway office. The combination of warm Mexican spices, fresh coriander, and lime juice is absolutely mouth-watering, and topped with the roasted red pepper chipotle sauce and melted cheese, you’ll find nothing better for cold days.

 
Recipe courtesy of Natalie Ward at Cook Eat Live Vegetarian.

Sweet potato & black bean enchiladas recipe

Serves four | Vegetarian.

Ingredients for the filling

• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 300g each)
• olive oil salt & black pepper
• 1 tsp each 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 to taste
• sour cream, or goat’s yoghurt to serve

Cooking method

1. 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.
2. Put them on the baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, cumin and allspice if you have it.
3. Toss it together with your hands to evenly coat then spread it all out in a single layer.
4. Roast for 15-20 minutes until tender.
5. 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 two minutes more.
6. Add in the cooked sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chipotle sauce and water.
7. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes to cook the tomatoes.
8. Mash the sweet potatoes in the pan then add the black beans, stir through and add the chopped coriander.
9. 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:

Ingredients

• 1 jar/tin, roasted red peppers (about 200-250 grams), rinsed and 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)

Cooking method

1. Blend the drained, rinsed peppers, tomato puree, chipotle sauce, sugar, cumin & Worcestershire sauce in a food processor until smooth.
2. 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.
3. 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 the enchiladas

1. Preheat oven to 190 C. The number of tortillas depends on your dishes so just fill as many as you need.
2. 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).
3. 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. You need to give it that caramelised-at-the-edges, crispy cheese topping, but there’s a fine line between brilliance and burnt beyond repair.
4. 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.

All photos courtesy of Natalie Ward. Visit Cook Eat Live Vegetarian, for more recipes.