Happy Monday on this last day of April! Hard to believe it! But yay us, we made it through another winter!! And with May just around the corner, there are lots of holidays and celebrations coming up. The first of these is Cinco de Mayo this Saturday, a day when it’s almost sacrilegious not to eat fun Mexican food like nachos, tacos, and burritos and throw back a margarita or two. It’s a holiday that most of us have little trouble getting behind, right?! So in anticipation of the 5th, I give you these super homemade Roasted veggie enchiladas. Let’s get the party started!!

In all honesty, enchiladas are not my favorite in the Mexican food department. Give me the choice and I’ll always opt for fajitas or a burrito, but my husband loves them so I’ve been searching for a really good homemade version and I think my search is over! Guys, even this non-enchilada lover happily gobbled one up and my husband is over the moon in love with me again!! It’s the magic of the enchilada!!

You start by roasting sweet potatoes and poblano peppers and we all know that roasting veggies makes them irresistibly good with all that tender caramelization!

While that’s going on, you make an easy red enchilada sauce that’s just the right amount of fire and flavor and literally takes just minutes to prepare.

Then it’s time for the assembly. You spoon some of that sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and then fill the tortillas with a mixture of the roasted veggies, black beans and sour cream, eventually lining them up in the pan. You top those with the rest of the sauce, a generous amount of shredded cheese and some pepitas for added flavor and crunch and pop the whole thing into the oven. 

Thirty minutes later dinner is served and what a treat it is for your mouth! So many different flavors and textures--the crunch of the pepitas, the gooey richness of the melted cheese, the heartiness of the beans and roasted sweet potatoes, the floury goodness of the tortillas and the kick of the poblano peppers and that zesty red sauce. Mmmnn....maybe we should start the celebrations a bit early?!!

Homemade Roasted Veggie Enchiladas

Makes 4-5 servings  

Prep Time:  Under 2 hours, but most of this is hands-free oven time

Ingredients

For the roasted veggies  

• 2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1-2 poblano pepper, seeds removed and cut into 1-inch squares (if you like things spicier use 2 peppers)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• Fine sea salt and black pepper  

For the enchilada sauce

• 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour  
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch or two of fine sea salt
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste  
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar  
• Salt and pepper to taste  

For the enchiladas

• Two 15 ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed well 
• ⅓ cup sour cream (you can use light)
• Eight 8-inch flour tortillas
• 4 ounces freshly shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack or a combo of the two 
• ¼ cup raw pepitas

The Recipe  

1.  To make the roasted veggies: preheat oven to 400º F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the sweet potato and poblano pieces on the sheet and toss with the oil to coat well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and make sure they are spread out in an even layer. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, tossing halfway through, until veggies are tender and beginning to caramelize. Set aside but leave oven on.

2.  To make enchilada sauce:  measure out all the ingredients you need before starting and have them right beside you by the stove because this comes together very quickly. In a small bowl, combine the flour, chili powder garlic powder, salt and cinnamon. Measure out the tomato paste and broth as well and place near the stove too.

3.  Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and let it heat for a few minutes until very hot so they when you add a pinch of the flour mixture, it sizzles. Add in entire flour mixture and use a whisk to stir it constantly until the mixture is very aromatic and deepens in color. This should take about 1 minute. Whisk in the tomato paste and then gradually whisk in the broth, stirring to remove any lumps. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Then lower the heat and let it gently simmer for another 5-7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened quite a bit. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

4.  To make the enchiladas:  lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.  Mix together the roasted veggies, beans and sour cream in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Pour about ¼ cup of the enchilada sauce into the prepared dish and spread it around evenly, tilting the pan. Take about ½ cup of the veggie mixture and place it in the middle of a tortilla. Wrap one side over the other to make a wrap and place it seem side down against the edge of one of the shorter ends if the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, wedging then in next to each other. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas, trying to leave the edges bare. Sprinkle the cheese all across the top and then the pepitas. 

6.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling. Serve immediately as is or with extra sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, chopped avocados etc.  

7.  These reheat really well in the oven or microwave and though I haven’t done it yet, I suspect that you could prepare and assemble the whole thing up to the baking part and then cover and chill it up to one day before baking it.  

Enjoy! 

Note:  Recipe adapted from Love Real Food by Katharyne Taylor. I doubled the amount of sweet potatoes, cut the peppers in half, left out the smoked paprika and cumin from the sauce, used a mix of cheddar and Monterey Jack and cut out the avocado and cilantro toppings.