Homemade vegetable enchiladas are a great dish for a weekend to enjoy with all the family. Children love to help making this dish as it is colourful and requires some assembly so it’s great for a team effort. You can vary the ingredients you use by bringing in seasonal vegetables or making the enchiladas with different kinds of meat – beef, pork or chicken. It also works well with fish or seafood. In particular with prawns, cod, tuna or hake.
Homemade Vegetable Enchiladas – Ingredients
8 gluten free tortillas
375g/14oz fresh spinach
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 x 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large courgette, diced
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
For the Sauce:
2 tbsps any GF flour
(almond or brown rice flour best choice)
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne chili powder
1 teaspoon chopped oregano or marjoram
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cloves of crushed garlic
500ml homemade vegetable stock (You can use a Kallo stock cube if you haven’t got any homemade stock as they don’t have MSG)
1 can chopped tomatoes (16 oz) or 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
Freshly ground pink Himalayan salt and ground black pepper to taste
Optional Toppings – Vegan cheese substitute
Fresh coriander
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180C
For the filling:
Lightly sauté garlic and spinach in the lime juice until just wilted. Once cooked, add to a large bowl with black beans & other veggies. Add the chilli powder and salt and pepper and mix until everything is evenly incorporated. Set bowl aside as you prepare the sauce.
For the sauce:
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, and spices in a saucepan without turning on the heat. Add a 1/4 of the vegetable stock and stir into a paste. Slowly whisk in the remaining stock. Bring to a boil over medium heat and whisk in the finely chopped tomatoes.
Allow to cook for a few minutes until it thickens slightly to the consistency of tomato soup. Remove from the heat and set aside. Taste for salt, you may need to add some depending on the saltiness of the vegetable stock you used.
Assembling the enchiladas:
To fill the enchiladas, you need to make an assembly line. Have your tortillas, casserole dish, bowl with the filling, sauce, and a pie pan or skillet filled with most of the sauce ready to go. (Leave some sauce to put on top of the enchiladas) Spread a little of the enchilada sauce in your casserole dish.
Drop a tortilla into your pie plate or skillet and let it get covered in sauce, flip so each side gets coated (this allows the tortilla to soften so you can roll it up into enchiladas). If your tortillas are still not softening enough even after they’ve been soaked in sauce, you can also gently heat them for about 30 seconds before soaking in sauce.
Now, place the tortilla either in the casserole dish (the easiest way) or on an additional plate. Scoop a few spoonfuls of filling onto the left side of the tortilla and roll it up. Continue with the rest of the tortillas, packing them tightly next to each other in the casserole dish. Pour some of the sauce over the top of the enchiladas, save the rest of the sauce for serving later as a dip.
Bake in the oven uncovered for about 20-30 minutes, until the tortilla edges become crisp. Allow the enchiladas to cool slightly before serving. Serve the homemade vegetable enchiladas with the remaining sauce, warmed slightly. Sprinkle with vegan cheese, nutritional yeast and fresh coriander, if using. Enjoy!