Enchiladas

Growing up, my family celebrated New Year's Day alongside other family holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and every family birthday.  I grew up  with a brother and parents and grandparents and cousins and an extensive number of aunts and uncles, so we had reason to gather for a family celebration at least once a month.  As my family grew up and moved away, one by one, this tradition continued on a smaller scale, until it was just me left in Vancouver.

This year I decided to revive the family traditions, and had my friend-family over for Christmas and New Year's dinners. Next year, I'll make sure we say Grace and my recreation of my warm-holiday memories will be complete.

I made these enchiladas (alongside some failed Spanish rice) for New Year's dinner.  They were delicious.  They also took me hours to make - next time I think I'll prep some of the chopping and maybe the sauce the day before. I was still trying to make the side dishes while Immanuel assembled - the side dishes were a bust, but the enchilada's were delicious and filling enough so that no-body minded the gross rice! There was also quite a lot of filling and sauce left over; we mixed them with some rotini and veggie round and made a baked Mexican pasta the following evening.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
1 tsp. canola oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. sugar
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
½-¾ cup water
Salt and pepper

For the filling:
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 can corn
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine
1 (8 oz.) zucchini, halved lengthwise, seeded and chopped
10 mushrooms, chopped
1 can corn
 3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups enchilada sauce (above), divided
1 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
½ cup minced fresh cilantro
¼ cup drained chopped canned green chiles
Salt and pepper

For assembly:
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese

 

Directions:

 

Sauce:

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (This makes more sauce than you will need for the enchiladas. The extra can be frozen for later use or passed with the enchiladas for serving.

 

Filling:

Preheat the oven to 450˚ F. Transfer half of the black beans to a bowl and mash with a fork until almost completely smooth. Set aside. Add the oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Chop up all the vegetables so that they're all about 1 cubic cm. Add the onion and bell pepper, mushrooms and cook until slightly softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook just until tender, 3-5 minutes more. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the mashed beans and remaining whole beans and corn and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.

 

Assembly:

Transfer the veggie mixture to a large bowl and stir in ½ cup of the enchilada sauce, the queso fresco, cilantro and green chiles. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

To assemble, briefly microwave the tortillas until warm and pliable, about 30 seconds. Place 1/3 cup of the filling mixture down the center of a tortilla. Tightly roll up the tortilla and place in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining filling and tortillas. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the enchiladas, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar and some feta over the top of the sauce. Cover with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted, 3-5 minutes more. Sprinkle with additional feta and cilantro for garnish, if desired. Serve warm with a dollop of sourcream and lime wedges.

 

Serves 12