Vegetarian enchiladas with vegetables, Mexico

Name: Vegetarian enchiladas with vegetables
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexico
Ingredients: 12 corn tortillas; 6 dried guajillo chillies; 2 garlic cloves; 1 white onion; 400 ml vegetable stock labelled gluten free; 2 courgettes, in small dice; 400 g cooked black beans; 1 tsp ground cumin; 200 g grated melting cheese; 3 tbsp neutral oil; Fresh coriander; Salt

Method

Open the guajillos, discard the seeds and toast them for 30 seconds a side in a dry pan. Cover with boiling water and soak for 20 minutes.
Blend the drained chillies with the garlic, half the onion and the stock. Push the sauce through a sieve to catch the skins.
Pour the sauce into a pan with 1 tbsp oil and let it thicken over medium heat for 8 minutes. Season with salt.
Fry the remaining onion and the diced courgette in the rest of the oil for 6 minutes. Add the beans and cumin, then mash a third of the beans with a fork.
Warm each tortilla for 20 seconds a side, then draw it through the hot sauce. Spoon in some filling and roll it up.
Pack the rolls tight in a baking dish, coat with the remaining sauce and scatter over the cheese.
Bake at 200C for 15 minutes, until the cheese bubbles. Scatter coriander over just before serving.

Dipping the tortilla in hot sauce softens it and stops it splitting as you roll. For a vegan version, drop the cheese and lay slices of avocado over the dish once it comes out of the oven.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

Why dip the tortillas in hot sauce before rolling?

A cold corn tortilla is brittle and cracks as soon as you fold it. Warmed and then dipped in the sauce, it softens and soaks it up, which is the whole point of an enchilada: the tortilla is coated, not merely covered.

Why toast the guajillo chillies before soaking them?

Thirty seconds a side in a dry pan wakes up their aroma, and the soak in boiling water softens them for blending. Take care not to scorch them: a blackened guajillo makes the whole sauce bitter.

How do I make a vegan version?

Leave out the cheese, bake the sauce on its own and add slices of avocado when it comes out, as the recipe suggests. A melting plant-based cheese also works, but the avocado brings the fresh fat that balances the chilli.

Vegetarian enchiladas with vegetables

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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