There’s something about Mexican food. I have always been obsessed with it. Be it from my time to time cravings for chips and gauc or my liking for tacos, burritos and nachos, Mexican food has always topped my list of favorites! So a few days back I tried making these traditional Mexican enchiladas with sweet potato and black bean filling and I must say this dish got me hooked! I have tried enchiladas in restaurants before but I find them either too cheesy or way too heavy to digest. But this recipe is a winner! It’s delicious, satisfying and extremely wholesome.

Sweet potatoes and black beans are like salt and pepper. No one can ever go wrong with this combination. Sweet potatoes apart from being starchy are extremely rich in complex carbs and dietary fibers. For this particular dish I baked the sweet potatoes as baking increases the amount of vitamin C in the sweet potatoes. Trivia…!!! When combined with the protein rich black beans and all the spices this filling is a burst of flavors. AND what are the things that an enchilada is incomplete without? Of course loads of torts, enchilada sauce and cheese. Here i used mild salsa verde as sauce. To cut the corners i used store bought sauce but if you want to really win at life, then go ahead and make your own! When the torts are filled with the filling, smothered with the salsa verde and cheese and baked for the right amount of time you get this super tender, flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth-esque enchiladas.

Preparing this dish is a real cinch. It makes an excellent weekend dinner and the best part is you will always have leftovers to take for the next day. You can always experiment with the filling, play around with different kinds of sauces and cheeses and make your very own version. For a gluten free meal, substitute wheat torts for corn torts.

The given recipe serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 can (15oz ) black beans, drained
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper as per taste
• 2-3 tablespoons lime juice
• 16 oz mild salsa verde
• 8 oz (2 cups) pepper jack cheese
• 1/4 cup red onions
• 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 3 tablespoons yogurt
• 6 wheat tortillas

Instructions

• To bake the sweet potatoes, preheat the oven at 375 degree F. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them in large cubes. On a lined tray, place these cubes and drizzle some olive oil. Toss to nicely coat them. Transfer the tray to the oven and bake the sweet potatoes for 20 – 25 minutes or until tender.
• Once cooked, remove them from the oven and transfer them to a mixing bowl.
• Mash the sweet potatoes and add beans, jalapeño, garlic, cumin powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, lime juice and 1/2 cup pepper jack to it.  Mix it nicely to combine all the ingredients.
• Warm the tortillas in the microwave or in a skillet. Once done, fill each tort with the prepared filling by placing the filling in the middle of each tort and wrapping the sides of the tort over the filling.
• In a baking tray, pour about one third of the salsa verde and spread to evenly coat the tray. Place the filled torts over it. Pour the remaining salsa verde and pepper jack cheese on top of it and bake for about 20 – 30 minutes, until the cheese turns golden brown.
• Once done, remove it from the oven and drizzle some yogurt and top it with red onions, cilantro and jalapeño.
• Serve hot!