Stephen’s grandfather (who we all refer to as Pa) is famous in our family for his enchiladas. Everyone loves them and Stephen especially. (He has been known to shovel down 20 or more at once, and no, I’m not exaggerating. My husband really loves these enchiladas!) Seeing how Pa’s enchiladas reign supreme, I’ve never attempted to make enchiladas. (How can I compete with perfection?) When I saw the recipe for sweet potato & black bean enchiladas in Healthy Tipping Point, I had to give them a try. They are totally different from Pa’s enchiladas, which made them less intimidating.
My grocery store didn’t have sweet potatoes (go figure), so I bought yams instead. I started by cubing up two of those bad boys and boiling them. They eventually ended up in the blender, which made me think that I probably could have skipped cutting them. (Don’t sweet potato/yam skins have magic nutrients in them or something?)
The yam mash got mixed with a mini can of corn, a regular sized can of black beans, and some cut up onion.
Maybe not the most appetizing in appearance, but I would have eaten this mixture straight outta the bowl. I thought the yams smelled like Thanksgiving (when else do I eat yams?) but they didn’t taste like they do on Turkey Day. (Probably because I didn’t add cinnamon or other holiday fixin’s.) The yam mixture was really smooth and creamy. The taste of the beans, corn, and onion shined through and the sweet potato/yam just becomes a part of the background.
I gave the blender a quick rinse, and then used it to make enchilada sauce. I could have used store-bought, but the book has a recipe to make your own. Plus, I had a cilantro surplus from my previous cooking adventure, so why not. Into the blender went tomatoes, onion, lime juice, salt, canned green chiles, and cilantro. I blended it until it was totally smooth.
The filling went into tortillas. The tortillas went into a casserole dish. The salsa went on the enchiladas. The enchiladas went into the oven. And 15 minutes later, the enchiladas went into my belly.
Life as it should be! Survey says: two thumbs up! Yummy!. There are a lot of steps involved (for me, that is), but each step is really easy. The blender does most of the work. My only misstep: when I poured the salsa on the enchiladas, I didn’t really think about how much salsa would be the right amount. Instead, I just dumped it all on. Whoopsie. I had way more salsa than was necessary and totally drown my enchiladas. I simply dumped the excess out before putting the dish in the oven. No biggie, but my guys were a little soggy. I won’t do that next time.
These are definitely not Pa’s enchiladas. But different can be good! While I don’t think I could get my husband to eat 20 of these, I do see myself making them again. Easy and delicious, my two big requirements!
Do you have any foods in your family that you (or someone else) is famous for making? (My Uncle John’s black bean dip is another family favorite. I ate a metric ton of the stuff at my bridal shower.) Do yam skins have magical nutrients? What else can I do with this cilantro before it goes bad?*
Eric and I are totally on a sweet potato kick right now (is there a difference between yams and sweet potatoes?) so this should be good to try out.
my mom makes “enchiladas verdes” or green enchiladas in english. they are uh-maz-ing! but way too much work for me (plus super fattening) so i only eat them when she makes them.
Enchiladas verdes sound like they are worth every fattening bite!*
Oh my those do sound delish! I’ve been craving enchiladas these days too. I may have to give these a try.
You can never go wrong with Mexican food!*
Cilantro in rice with salt and lime juice! Just like Chipotle.
Chipotle…yum! Excuse me while I go drool! I love Chipotle!*
I can’t get “normal” sweet potatoes over here (Hawaii) either! Just yams (I googled when I moved here and they are different), white sweet potatoes (taste similar but less nutrients), and Okinawa sweet potatoes (dark purple, and a nutrient powerhouse, but don’t taste anything like normal sweet potatoes! Still good, but don’t satisfy that craving). I’ve since learned the ones we have on the mainland, what I call normal ones, are garnet sweet potatoes.
I never would have thought about that, but I guess it makes sense that they don’t have regular sweet potatoes there. Bummer! I’m intrigued by the Okinawa sweet potatoes. Those sound really cool!*
YUM, those enchiladas look muy delicioso!!! Look at you, becoming the culinary goddess!!!! I absolutely love to cook, too, and it’s so much fun to eat the results of your hard work. =) I actually like my enchiladas very soft (when I had braces on my teeth, enchiladas were one of the few foods that I could eat). And yes, sweet potatoes and yams are supposed to be among THE most healthy foods that you can eat – they are the equivalent of taking a vitamin!!!!!
Keep up the great recipe reviews – I love them all!!!!
I’m glad you are enjoying my recipe attempts! I’m really not much of a cook, so everything I make is really simple. The upside to that is if I can make it, anyone can make it!*
Clearly I need to visit Texas for some delicious food! I have the HTP book but I let a friend borrow it. As soon as I get it back, I’m making these!!
I have made a similar filling in the past that goes into wontons (I think?), rolled, and baked. Delicious party food!