Vegan Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

I know what you're thinking....another Mexican/Latin dish?  Come on!! Yes, my second post is an entree influenced by Latin culture.  But, to be fair, I had some Mexican ingredients left over from my Mexican pizza dinner that I needed to use.  And so, as luck would have it, the yummy sweet potato and black bean enchilada entree made its debut in my kitchen.  Here's what you can do to make your very own vegan sweet potato and black bean enchiladas...

Ingredients:


2 Large Sweet Potatoes - peeled and cubed (cut into bite sized pieces) 


1 15 oz low sodium canned black beans, rinsed and drained


1 large yellow sweet onion - diced 


3 cups of enchilada sauce 
(note:  you can use homemade enchilada sauce or your favorite low sodium store bought enchilada sauce; here's a link to a quick red enchilada sauce online:  http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianmexicanrecipes/r/enchiladasauce.htm  For those of you in Memphis, my Garden to Groceries students make a yummy pepper pumpkin pesto that would go great in place of the enchilada sauce...and yes, it's vegan...no cheese!  To order some, shoot me an email at work:  tiffanieg@bgcm.org)

10 small tortillas (you can use corn tortillas, flour tortillas, buckwheat tortillas, low carb tortillas, spinach tortillas...it is your choice)

1 jalapeno pepper


1 Avocado


1 Lime for juice


1/2 cup green onions chopped


Cayenne Pepper & Hungarian Paprika to taste


Salt & Pepper to taste


3 tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil 


Directions:


1) Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F


2) Place sweet potatoes and onions on a baking sheet and toss in coconut oil (or olive oil...I prefer coconut oil b/c of how it enhances the natural sweet flavor of the sweet potato) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are easy to pierce with a fork and onions are browned.  Take out of the oven and set aside.


3) Peel and chop the avocado into cubes.  Dice the jalapeno pepper and remove the seeds. 


4) Mix the avocado, jalapeno pepper, and green onions together and toss.  Add lime juice, cayenne pepper, hungarian paprika and salt to taste.  Cover and set aside.  


5) Mix black beans and sweet potato mixture in a bowl and toss together.  Add Hungarian Paprika to taste.  


6) Heat a cast iron skillet and place each tortilla in the skillet for 30 seconds on each side so the tortilla will be soft and pliable. Have a bowl handy with about 1/2 cup of the red enchilada sauce.  Dip each tortilla in the sauce ---front and back.


7) Next, place each saucy tortilla in a casserole dish and put 3 tablespoons of the sweet potato/black bean mixture and roll each enchilada tightly.  Continue with the rest of the tortillas --10 total.  Pack each enchilada beside each other in a single layer only.  


8) Pour about 1 1/2 cups of the enchilada sauce over the entire casserole(you will have extra enchilada sauce left over to serve with the enchiladas once they are done).


9) Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until edges of the tortillas are slightly browned.  


10) Remove enchiladas and cool for 5 minutes.


11) Top enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce first and then the avocado mixture.  Serve and enjoy!!!


This dish is especially delicious and it makes 5 servings....chances are if you are like me, you'll have plenty left over for the next day's lunch and then some depending upon your family size.  Now I need to bore you with a bit of health stuff - Sweet potatoes are packed with Vitamin A and actually have more beta-carotene than carrots!!!  Black beans are very high in folate, fiber, and are great antioxidants and can also help to lower cholesterol.  Avocados serve as a good source of healthy fat; jalapenos kick up your metabolism along with the cayenne pepper...put all of this together makes for one healthy, tasty vegan dish.  Enjoy and happy flavorful vegan eating!!!


Cheers to health with flavor,


~Tiffanie


P.S.  Next time I think I will mash the sweet potatoes and then mix the black beans in...you may want to try yours this way :-)