Poblano + Corn + Black Bean Enchiladas

I’m going to call it now… this blog could potentially end up with a lot of Mexican food on it. Why is this, you ask? Well long story not too short my husband and I grew up together in small-town Wyoming. We dated all through high school (yes, we are high school sweethearts), then my husband (then boyfriend) left on a church mission for two years to Mexico. Once he came home, he was pretty much a Mexican – he spoke Spanish like a Mexican (and still can!), had Mexican mannerisms, and wanted Mexican food endlessly. Me being the supportive girlfriend that I was at the time was happy to go along with it. I ate sopes, tacos, tortas, tacos, enchiladas, conchas, tacos, tacos, etc. because that’s what my newly returned boyfriend wanted.

Did I mention that he would make these things for me? He took the time to learn dishes from some of the best home cooks that he met – what a guy, right?! I didn’t mind Mexican food, but now that I was getting legit stuff, I was LOVING it! Suffice to say, we’ve been married for a while now, and we eat almost as much Mexican food as we did then. Some is the real deal, made to a T from a handwritten recipe scrawled on a piece of notebook paper. Others have been given the Tex-Mex treatment. All are happily on heavy rotation at our house.

These enchiladas fall squarely into the Tex-Mex category, which is fine by me because they work for so many reasons.

The first thing to note is the missing chicken/beef in the title of this post. These enchiladas are vegetarian, but I promise you won’t miss the meat. They are more flavorful than any meat-filled enchilada I’ve ever had. I once fed these to a family full of cattle ranchers (gutsy, I know) to rave reviews. If you (or your certain loved one) are hesitant about vegetarian dishes, this is an excellent place to start.

Have a few loose leftover vegetables floating around your fridge? These enchiladas are the perfect home for almost any vegetable. Just dice it up and throw it in the pan with everything else. Spinach + butternut squash + mushrooms + goat cheese = YUM.

Finally, and most importantly, these enchiladas taste good. Yes, they are good for you, but how useful is that if they don’t taste good too.

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Poblano + Corn + Black Bean Enchiladas

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Author Jillian

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil , divided
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 1 small onion
• 1 poblano pepper , ribs and seeds removed
• 1 large zucchini
• 1 ear of corn , or 1 cup frozen, thawed corn
• 1 15 oz can of black beans , drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 8 small corn tortillas
• 16 oz enchilada sauce (red or green will work)
• 5 oz shredded cheese (I used white cheddar, almost anything will work)
• Diced avocado , crema, and cilantro for serving

Instructions

1. First, cut the mushrooms, onion, poblano, and zucchini into a small dice. The filling will work with larger pieces, but it won't be quite as cohesive.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Let the mushrooms cook until they release their water and begin to brown. Next, add the onion and pepper. Again, saute until starting to turn brown. Same thing with the zucchini - let it cook until it starts to brown. Finally add the corn, black beans, salt, black pepper, and spices. This sauteing step is SUPER important. All these vegetables have different cooking times, and spacing them out like this is a great way to build flavor and make sure each one is cooked well.
3. While the vegetables are cooking, heat remaining tablespoon of oil in another small saute pan over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, toast both sides of each tortilla until starting to brown in spots. This helps to keep your tortillas from turning to mush while they are baking with the sauce and filling.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. To assemble the enchiladas, start by pouring 1/3 of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a baking dish (a 9x9 pan works wells, as, apparently, does a deep dish pie plate). Scoop a few tablespoons of filling and a little cheese into each tortilla. You want the tortillas nice and full but still want to be able to roll them up. Place each enchilada seam side down into the sauce. Pour remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling. I like to finish my enchiladas under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheese a bit, but that is definitely optional 🙂
7. Top with avocado, crema, chopped cilantro, and enjoy!