Black Bean Enchiladas - No Oil, Vegan

Black bean enchiladas was one of the first experiments I tried to do without oil or cheese. We already loved refried black beans and had just discovered tomatillos as a beautiful combination of tart and juicy elements.  Stone ground whole grain corn meal tortillas are a wonderful vehicle for all kinds of toppings, but we craved the taste of the Southwest. So here's what we do. You can substitute something else for the sweet potato, but we like the thickness, sweetness and depth it gives to the soft interior. You can also add a little chopped jalapeno pepper, which we have done when we have it around. Experiment with what you like! Of course you can use pinto beans and absolutely make your own refried beans of any kind, spiced the way you want. We've even used leftover shiitake mushrooms and olives in these to great effect.

Black Bean Enchiladas - no oil, Vegan
1 medium sweet potato
1 can Amy's organic vegetarian refried black beans (or 1.5 cups of any beans you like)
5-8 Tomatillos, about 2.5 cups rough chopped
1 large onion, chopped medium fine
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 cup sweet yellow corn
6 stone ground cornmeal tortillas
handful grape tomatoes (or sliced tomatoes)
1/4-1/2  cup water (to cook the sweet potatoes)
(you can add chopped tomatoes, salsa etc.)

1. Cook the sweet potato sliced with skin on in a small sauce pot. Pull out the soft sweet potato and mash it in a bowl, set aside.  Save  the remaining liquid in the pot (maybe 1/2 cup?).
2. Chop onion medium fine, add to roughly chopped tomatillos in the cooking juice in the small pot, adding the chopped parsley and cilantro. Cover and cook on medium low, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft and less defined.

3. Pour about 2/3 cup of the tomatillo sauce into the bottom of a 9X12 oven pan.
4. Heat each tortilla on the burner, flipping once, for less than a minute. Do one at a time. Put a 4" blob of the canned refried black beans, plus a tablespoon or so of sweet potato, and roll the tortilla into a roll, placing it overlap side down in the pan. We have also used home made black beans spiced with cumin and a little salt and pepper. In this case save out 1/4 cup of beans to scatter on top for effect.  Continue until you use everything (amazingly it has come out evenly for 6 enchiladas having made this 4 times!).

5. Pour the rest of the tomatillo sauce over the whole thing, spreading it and then spread the corn on top, chopping the grape tomatoes and decorating the whole pan with them.
6. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes. Peel the enchiladas off the bottom of the pan with a spatula and serve. About 2 enchiladas per person.


Makes a good leftover lunch!

Black Bean Enchiladas - no oil vegan Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Serving (472g) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 356 18% Total Fat 4g 6% Saturated Fat 1g 4% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0% Sodium 701mg 29% Total Carbohydrate 69g 23% Dietary Fiber 15g 59% Sugars 11g 0% Protein 14g 29% Vitamin A 28% • Vitamin C 59% Calcium 14% • Iron 27% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com using my data