Ah… August! It’s Hatch Chile Pepper time! And it’s the perfect time to literally spice up your favorite Southwest (or as we like to say in Texas, Tex-mex) dishes. After putting out a call for great recipes among my friends on Facebook, Coach Denise, a nutritionist and triathlon coach with Triple Threat Tough delivered with this awesome recipe. One note of caution, though. If you use Hatch chiles for this recipe, be sure to sample each chile for spiciness as you go or you’ll end up with something that is over the moon spicy!
If you’re eating a vegetarian or gluten-free diet, you’ll love it. And even if you’re a carnivore or a lover of the flour tortilla, the richness and creamy goodness of the sweet potatoes will more than satisfy your appetite. Toss in a side of steamed broccoli and follow up with some fresh strawberries and end up with a satisfying meal that doesn’t leave you with what I like to call the “Tex-Mex food baby” in your tummy.
Coach Denise originally found this recipe at Karina’s Kitchen: Recipes from a Gluten-free Goddess. Here’s what Karina has to say about one of her most popular vegetarian, gluten-free recipes:
These wrapped little gems are soft and creamy and a little bit spicy. Serve with crisp greens. Photo shown is family style, rolled in a baking dish. For company, I prefer to nestle these babies into individual gratin dishes. It makes for a prettier presentation.
Ingredients
Quickie Green Chile Sauce
1 cup light gluten-free vegetable broth
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch dissolved in a little cold water
1 generous cup chopped roasted green chiles, hot or mild
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin or chili powder, hot or mild, to taste
Enchilada Filling
1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, rinsed, drained
4 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime
2 heaping cups cooked diced sweet potatoes
1/2 cup chopped roasted mild green chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder mild or spicy
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I LOVE cilantro, so I doubled this amount.)
Assembly
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed
8 white or yellow corn tortillas
4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Choose a baking dish that would hold 8 rolled enchiladas. Make your Quickie Green Chile Sauce by combining the broth, dissolved arrowroot, green chiles, garlic and spices in a sauce pan and heating over medium-high heat. Bring to a high simmer. Simmer until thickened. Taste test and adjust seasonings. Set aside.
In the meantime, for the Enchilada Filling, using a mixing bowl, combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the cooked sweet potatoes with the chopped green chiles; add the spices. Season with sea salt and pepper.
Pour about 1/4 cup of the Quickie Green Chile Sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.
To assemble the enchiladas, grab a skillet and heat a dash of oil. Lightly cook the corn tortillas to soften them, one at a time, as you stuff each one.
Lay the first hot tortilla in the sauced baking dish; wet it with the sauce. Spoon 1/8 of the sweet potato mixture down the center. Top with 1/8 of the black beans. Wrap and roll the tortilla to the end of the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Top with the rest of the sauce. Top with a sprinkle of shredded Monterey Jack cheese.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are piping hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.
Nutrition
Serves 4. Per serving: 500 calories (190 from fat), 21g total fat, 7g saturated fat, 25mg cholesterol, 980mg sodium, 64g total carbohydrate (11g dietary fiber, 11g sugar), 18g protein