Black Bean Enchiladas

Meat free Monday had a Mexican theme this week.  Enchiladas made with black beans.

An enchilada is basically a corn tortilla rolled around any type of filling including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or a combination.  They are then covered with a sauce made from chillies and tomato and baked.

I chose black beans as the filling for these enchiladas as they are a staple in Mexican food and are very nutritious.  They are rich in folate, magnesium, phosphorus and iron, high in fibre and protein and extremely low in fat, with virtually no saturated fat.  Black beans also contain more antioxidants than any other beans!

You can buy them dry or ready cooked in cans.  I have not seen canned black beans in Coles or Woolworths, but our local Foodworks and fruit and vegetable shop both have them and I have also seen them in Harris Farm.

To prepare dry black beans, soak them in plenty of water overnight.  The next day drain and rinse the black beans (the water will be very dark).  Cook in plenty of fresh water for 45 minutes- 1 hour, or if you have a pressure cooker, pre-soaked black beans only take 10 minutes to cook.  I like to cook them until they are quite soft.

1 cup of dry beans makes approximately 3 cups of cooked beans.  They are very versatile and can be used in salads, soups, other Mexican dishes and you can even include them in brownies!  They store well in the fridge for 4-5 days, or you can freeze them for up to 3  months.

To make these enchiladas, soft-cooked black beans were mixed with chilli, spring onions and a mixture of cheeses, then wrapped in corn tortillas and smothered in a pre-prepared enchilada sauce.  Baked until golden and topped with a super-quick guacamole and fresh coriander…

Dead easy to make, they only took about 10 minutes to construct (I had precooked the beans the day before) and I served them with rocket and watercress freshly picked from our garden.

Black Bean Enchiladas

Serves 4

• 4 corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups soft cooked black beans (or 1 can, drained and rinsed well)
• 1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup low fat Greek yoghurt
• 1/4 cup low fat ricotta
• 40g tasty cheese
• 40g low fat feta cheese
• 375g jar enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso which I found at Woolworths)
• 1 ripe medium avocado, finely diced
• juice of 1/2 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Combine black beans, chilli, spring onion, yoghurt, ricotta cheese, tasty cheese and half of the feta cheese in a mixing bowl. Stir well, then set aside.
3. Warm 3/4 of the enchilada sauce in a large shallow pan over low-medium heat.
4. Use remaining enchilada sauce to lightly coat the bottom of an 18cm x 28cm baking dish.
5. Using your hands or tongs, carefully dip the tortillas in the warmed sauce until both sides are well coated. Transfer each tortilla to the baking dish, scoop in 1/4 of the black bean filling and roll up. Place seam side down in the baking tray
6. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas and spread to make sure all parts of the tortillas are evenly coated.
7. Crumble remaining feta cheese over the top and bake for 25 minutes or until brown.
8. While the enchiladas are cooking, gently stir together avocado, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste to make guacamole.
9. Sprinkle baked enchiladas with chopped coriander and top with guacamole to serve.
10. Serve with rocket and watercress or other preferred salad.

Per Serve:  1766kJ or 420 calories; P 17g Fat 21g SFat 7g CHO 38g Fibre 8g