Cheese and Bean Enchiladas with Red Sauce

Name: Cheese and Bean Enchiladas with Red Sauce
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: Mexico
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic; 3 tbsp ancho chili powder, or 4 dried ancho chilies, toasted, soaked and seeded; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes, 400 g; 300 ml (1¼ cups) Vegetable Stock, or water; 5 g (¾ tsp) fine sea salt; 1 tsp cider vinegar; 1 can (15 oz) pinto or black beans, 400 g, drained; 200 g (1⅓ cups) frozen sweetcorn, thawed; 150 g (5 oz) Monterey Jack or mild cheddar, grated; 1 tsp ground cumin; 15 g (½ cup) cilantro, chopped; 8 corn tortillas, 15 cm (6 in); 3 tbsp neutral oil; 100 g (3½ oz) Monterey Jack or mild cheddar, grated, for the top; sour cream, sliced scallion and avocado, to serve

Rolled corn tortillas baked in a smoky red chili sauce under melted cheese

Makes: 8 enchiladas
Hands-on: 40 min
Total: 1 h 10 min
Level: Some skill

Enchiladas are tortillas dipped in chili sauce, rolled around a filling and baked. The red sauce here is made from dried chilies or chili powder, simmered with tomato and garlic until rich. Lightly frying the tortillas first stops them falling apart in the sauce.

Ingredients

Red sauce

3 tbspolive oil
1onionchopped
3 clovesgarlic
3 tbspancho chili powderor 4 dried ancho chilies, toasted, soaked and seeded
1 tspground cumin
1 tspdried oregano
1 canchopped tomatoes (14 oz)400 g
300 mlVegetable Stock (1¼ cups)or water
5 gfine sea salt (¾ tsp)
1 tspcider vinegar

Filling

1 canpinto or black beans (15 oz)400 g, drained
200 gfrozen sweetcorn (1⅓ cups)thawed
150 gMonterey Jack or mild cheddar (5 oz)grated
1 tspground cumin
15 gcilantro (½ cup)chopped

Assembly

8corn tortillas15 cm (6 in)
3 tbspneutral oil
100 gMonterey Jack or mild cheddar (3½ oz)grated, for the top
sour cream, sliced scallion and avocadoto serve

Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-free
Allergens: milk, celery, sulphites
Origin: Mexico

Method

Make the sauce: heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the onion until soft, 6 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano and stir 1 minute. 7 min
Add the tomatoes, stock and salt and simmer 10 minutes. Blend until smooth, stir in the vinegar and taste for salt. It should be pourable, like thick cream. 10 min
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Mix the filling ingredients with 4 tbsp of the sauce.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and fry each tortilla for 5–10 seconds per side, just until soft and pliable but not crisp. Drain on paper towel.
Spread a third of the sauce in a 20 × 30 cm (8 × 12 in) baking dish. Dip each tortilla in the sauce, fill with an eighth of the filling, roll and lay seam-side down in the dish.
Pour the remaining sauce over, covering the ends, and scatter with the cheese.
Bake until bubbling and the cheese is melted and spotted brown, 20 minutes. Rest 5 minutes and serve with sour cream, scallion and avocado. 25 min

Why it works

A quick dip in hot oil seals the tortilla's surface so it softens in the sauce without disintegrating. Dried chilies and chili powder taste best after being bloomed in oil, which releases their fat-soluble color and flavor and removes any raw edge.

Common mistakes

Skipping the frying: tortillas crack when rolled and go mushy in the oven.
Leaving tortilla ends uncovered: they dry out and turn hard.

Variations

Chicken enchiladas: Use 400 g shredded cooked chicken in place of the beans and corn.

Make ahead and storage

Assemble up to 1 day ahead, cover and refrigerate; bake 30 minutes. The sauce keeps 1 week and freezes for 3 months.

Notes

Corn tortillas are usually gluten-free; check the label. Stock cubes may contain celery. Fan oven: 180°C (350°F).