Black Bean Enchiladas for Christmas Dinner

Christmas afternoon Bryan's parents and siblings came down to the house. I planned to do something easy. Ha! Perhaps I should have tried making something I had made before, but no, I only believe in experimenting on guests, especially if they're family.

I actually made the black bean chili that was to be the filling for the enchiladas the day before. I adapted the recipe from the one in Greens (leaving out the parts where I roast chilies to make my own chili powder). Once completed on Christmas Eve morning, I let it sit in the pot all day and night, since there was no meat in it, it was just fine. Here's the recipe:

Black Bean Chili

2 cups black beans soaked overnight (this is a really important step, I've screwed up this dish a couple of times before because I didn't soak the beans overnight)
1 bay leaf
4 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp dried oregano
4 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
2 Tbsp red pepper (chili) flakes
3 Tbsp veg oil
3 medium yellow onions diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
salt
1 large can diced tomatoes, with juice

Sort beans from stones, rinse well, cover and let soak overnight. Next day, drain, cover with fresh water by an inch and bring to a boil with the bay leaf. Lower heat and let beans simmer while you prepare the rest.

Heat the oil in a skillet, and saute onions over medium heat until they are soft. Add garlic, herbs and spices and cook 5 min. Add tomatoes and juice. Simmer everything for 15 min, then add mixture to the beans and, if necessary, enough water so the beans are covered by 1 inch. Continue to cook the beans for an hour or so, keeping an eye on the water level.

When the beans are cooked taste and add salt and cilantro. Eat, use or let sit.


So once I had this chili, It was going to be easy to make black bean enchiladas, just add tortillas and cheese right? Wrong. I decided I'd be tricky and make up my own sauce for the enchiladas because I'm generally not a huge fan of enchilada sauce. Here's my secret recipe:

Ashley's Secret Enchilada Sauce

3 bell peppers (orange and yellow) roughly chopped
2 leeks, washed and chopped
4 tbsp butter
1 cup white wine
2 Tbsp sugar

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add bell pepper and leeks and saute for 5 min until they soften. Add wine and sugar and let cook down for 10 min until they turn a little syrup-y. Scrape into Food Processor or blender. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper as necessary.

That's it. Then to make the enchiladas (which in truth didn't really hold together that well because I didn't steam the tortillas first) cover the bottom of a baking pan with some sauce. Dredge a corn tortilla in the sauce. Place some chili and cheese (Monterrey jack worked nicely) in the tortilla and roll so that seam is at the bottom. Continue until pan is full. Cover with sauce and more cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 min or until the cheese is melty.

Serve hot!