Black Bean & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Veggie_Girl's Note:

Yummy! Adapted from "Vegan Planet," this recipe is something my non-vegetarian hubby requests regularly. Roasting the sweet potatoes is absolutely the key to this recipe - I've cooked them other ways before and it turns out much less flavorful. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it goes together quickly and makes great left overs too! In the future, I plan to try substituting homemade enchilada sauce for the salsa and more tomatoes. **Update: as some of the reviewers have noted, the cayenne pepper makes this a pretty spicy number! You may want to add less if you don't like the heat.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 10

Yield: 10.0 enchila ...

• 2 large sweet potatoes , peeled and diced
• 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil (for roasting potatoes)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (for black bean mix)
• 1 large garlic clove , minced
• 2 small hot chili peppers , seeded and minced (I use habenero)
• 1 small yellow onion , chopped
• 1 medium green pepper , chopped
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 15 ounces black beans , drained and rinsed
• 14 ½ ounces diced tomatoes , drained
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 cups salsa
• 8 whole wheat tortillas
• ½ cup cheese
• ¼ cup red onion , finely minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F Arrange diced sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and black pepper (to taste). Roast for approximately 30-40 minutes or until tender. When potatoes are finished, reduce heat to 350°F.
2. While the potatoes are roasting, heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic, chilies, yellow onion, and green pepper until it begins to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add cumin and cayenne; cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add black beans, tomatoes, and chili powder to the skillet. Simmer over low heat until the sweet potatoes have finished, allowing the mixture to cook down a bit. Once the sweet potatoes are out of the oven, add them to the black bean mixture and allow them to cook for 5 more minutes.
4. Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish and spread a thin layer of salsa on the bottom.
5. Place a tortilla onto a flat work surface. Spoon a portion of the sweet potato/black bean mixture down the center; roll up the tortilla and place into baking dish. Continue until all tortillas are filled.
6. Spoon any remaining sweet potato/black bean mixture on top of the tortillas. Top with remaining salsa, cheese, and minced red onion. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.

Reviews

[Chele519]

This was terrific! I halved the recipe but I only had 4 tortillas so I had quite a bit of filling left. It was so good, I may just make the filling next time and skip the tortillas.

[sofie-a-toast]

This was really really delicious and much healthier, more imaginative alternative to cheese enchiladas (what i usually make as a vegetarian). As others suggested, I scaled back the cayenne. I also thought it was a little dry, but that's nothing some extra salsa or enchilada sauce on top can't fix. The flavor that really stood out was the filling! Will make again!

[Maria H.]

I made this for a potluck, so I didn't add any cayenne or habeneros, but did use 365 brand spicy black beans instead of regular black beans. I also used corn tortillas instead of flour. It was a great hit! Several people asked for the recipe and it disappeared quickly. I don't think many meat eaters realized that this was the vegetarian dish at the event! ;) Also, my 13 month old daughter ate 3 bowls of the filling! A big thumbs up from her too!