Another recipe that you can adapt to whatever flavor profile and veggies/beans you have on hand. While there are multiple steps to this recipe (as there are to most of my recipes, none take a lot of effort. It does require a little planning ahead, especially if you are making all of your components from scratch. I cannot reiterate enough to use whatever kind of vegetables you may have on hand, bell peppers, onions, poblanos, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, etc, As a general guideline I'd suggest using 1.5 parts of vegetables to every 1 part of beans, as the vegetables will cook down in the process. However, you could also just leave out the beans and only go for vegetables.
Ingredients
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed or 2 cups of dry black beans cooked using your favorite method. (I generally cook mine in water, with some salt and bay leaf for 55 min on high pressure in the IP without rinsing, but I find that times vary depending on your pressure cooker.
2 cups of packed fresh or frozen spinach
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 head of broccoli, chopped including stem
1-2 tbsp veg bouillon
12-14 corn tortillas (store bought or made from scratch using masa harina, water and salt)
1/4 -1/2 cup of enchilada sauce
Enchilada Sauce
6 Guajillo, 2 Pasilla and 1 Chipotle chile or any combination of dried chile you enjoy. Just be mindful of which ones are spicy vs mild depending on your preference (if using dried chiles, deseed them first, toast them in a dry pan until fragrant, then soak in hot water for 30 min).
OR use 1 tbsp of chile powder & 1 tsbp of smoked paprika powder
OR use 2 chipotle en adobo
4-5 tomatoes
6 cloves or garlic
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1/4 cup cilantro stems/leaves (stems are very flavorful and since this sauce is blended, feel free to only use the stems and save the leaves for garnish
2 tbsp tomato paste (optional)
2 tbsp of veg bouillon & 1.5 cups or more of water (until desired consistency is reached)
1 tbsp of cumin
1 tbsp of coriander
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sweetener of choice
salt & pepper to taste
Finishers
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp pumpkin or sunflower seeds
Optional: vegan cheese or crumbled tofu marinated in olive or caper brine
salt to taste
Method
Make the Enchilada sauce — turn on the broiler in your oven:
Deseed, toast and soak the chiles in hot water (if using dried chiles, skip this step if using spices).
On a lined baking sheet, add tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, garlic and put under broiler until blackened (check after 3-5 minutes depending on the strength of your broiler). Turn veggies upside down and put back under broiler until the other side is equally blackened with spots. This is where the flavor is!
Put veggies into blender (or pot if using an immersion blender) with chiles and all other sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth sauce consistency is reached. You can always add more water if needed, just start out with 1.5 cups.
Pour the sauce into a pan from the blender and bring to a boil. Simmer while stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes or until a darker shade of red is reached. This helps in intensifying the flavors. Taste again at this point for seasoning and add more vinegar, salt sweetener or spices if needed depending on your preferences.
Make the filling:
Turn the oven to 420°F OR skip the baking if you want to just serve the enchiladas covered in sauce on individual plates
Add chopped broccoli to a non-stick pan on medium heat. Cook and stir for 3 minutes, add drained black beans, seasonings and continue cooking with a lid until heated through. Add spinach and the Enchilada sauce and cook until incorporated. Remember that the filling will continue cooking in the oven, so there is no need to cook anything until tender — unless you are not planning on baking them but just serving them on plates.
Toast the tortillas on both sides until you see some darkened spots. This will add strength to them and flavor so they won't fall apart while cooking soaked in sauce.
If baking them, in a large casserole form, add 1–2 ladles of sauce at the bottom. Fill each tortilla with 1.5–2 tbsp of filling, roll them up and place seam side down into the casserole dish. Make sure to “snuggle” the stuffed and rolled tortillas close to each other and fill up the pan. Once all placed in, cover all with sauce. Top with any type of cheese if using and place into the oven for 30 minutes.
Garnish with whatever toppings you enjoy and serve with plenty of extra sauce.
Notes
You could also leave out the salt if you are following a low sodium diet. Again, any of the vegetables or beans are just a guideline, please adapt to your liking. However, this recipe in particular is a nutritional powerhouse with beans, greens and cruciferous veggies that will make your taste buds sing.
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