Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Hello m0th3rfu4ker – hey, hi, how ya durrin?
#IYKYK
Ok, so seriously – how is everyone holding up from the aftermath of the Thanksgiving holiday? I hope you are all doing *well* because that’s a word that I believe is all-encompassing but also has a little sass factor because we all usually know….not all is well.
It is a day that is supposed to be reflective, full of thanks, food & family. Which I believe we all robustly wish for each year. Instead, for many of us, it can be quite the opposite. So, to quote the New York Times….”it will all be fine”
“Rude relatives. Forgotten ingredients. Misplaced comments. Not enough wine.” I think we get it. Stressful & Chaotic are the words I use to describe Thanksgiving. This year was the first year I *actually* felt what it’s like as an adult to kind of have some negative feelings about Thanksgiving – mostly just jangly nerves but also just family health issues going on beyond my realm or scope. I’m sure many of you can understand & sympathize with that.
The thing I kept privately telling myself to keep my little ass calm is “it’s 1 day. You can only control yourself. If anyone has any problems, they can fuck themselves” *wink* but seriously that might have been my mantra.
so let’s move on.
ANYWAY.
I personally enjoy the few days after Thanksgiving before the Christmas bustle OFFICIALLY starts. It seems to be a few days of breathing, thinking & low-key planning for the next 30 days ahead – at least for me that’s how I feel. I love diving into Christmas because (as I stated before) this year was my first adult-dose experience of full-on stress for the Thanksgiving holiday & it is honestly something I’d prefer not to repeat each year.
LEFTOVERS are the name of the game – but how many days are they actually worth it? I can usually make 3 meals of leftovers without trying to turn them into something new – which also can be exhausting to repurpose a food that you are borderline sick of…..but alas, this isn’t one of those kinds of recipes because I feel like that’s all I’ve been seeing lately is LEFTOVERS THIS or LEFTOVERS THAT….when in reality, after day 5 I’m sure we are all ready to throw our entire fucking refrigerators away.
Meatless Monday
Chris & I have been (loosely) trying to incorporate a Meatless Monday once a week….sometimes it very well happens on Monday, sometimes its on Thursday & sometimes you can fuck off because we are human and it just didn’t happen that week.
I get it. Global Warming, doing our part, eating less meat – it makes sense & I’m here for it. I also don’t want to feel like I’m choking down a meal just for the sake of the environment. So, let’s make it healthy, easy, AND taste good so we might actually look forward to it – shall we?
My Sweet Potato Enchiladas will hit the spot – if you just had whipped sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving as a side then I guess you can either keep scrolling or get over it because adding in these Mexican spices will make you forget you even had sweet potatoes just a few days ago! Pair this dish with my Avocado Crema to cool things down or even as an appetizer with chips, this will seal the deal for sure!
This meal will be the welcome reprieve from the other heavy, hearty foods that are sure to come your way this season – recharge with a different idea on the table that will be sure to please any palate! If you’re ready for a Meatless Monday after Thanksgiving, then let’s get to it!
Ingredients
· 1 large sweet potato, peeled & diced into bite size pieces
· 6-8 soft taco flour tortillas
· 1 Cubanelle pepper, diced
· 1 Poblano pepper, diced
· 1 Red Bell pepper, diced
· 1 small Vidalia Onion, diced
· 1 can refried black beans, heated
· Mole sauce, about ¾ cup (see notes)
· ½ cup Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
· ½ cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
· 1 TSP Cumin, divided
· 1 TSP Coriander, divided
· 1 TSP Garlic Powder, divided
· S+P to taste
· ½ TSP Chipotle Powder (optional)
· 2 green onion stalks, chopped for garnish
· Sour Cream, optional for garnish
let’s talk about it.
SOME NOTES *** cause I’m sure some of y’all are screaming right about now.
I have made this recipe quite a few times since I first originally documented it & have decided this is the way to go – I do not & don’t actually give a shit, feel the need to take all new pictures each time I try a recipe – I’ll just be kind enough to list the correct, finalized ingredients & share my tweaks with you, obviously.
The Peppers – I couldn’t find a Poblano pepper in any grocery store the first time I tried to come up with this recipe – WOMP WOMP. I was the most sad. I grabbed a Hungarian Wax pepper (eh) and a Cubanelle pepper (yah) and decided to keep 1 of the 2 for my next go-round. The Poblano is definitely a MUST with its smoky flavor & the Red Bell is a MUST for the sweet taste and pop of color.
The Cheese – I tried Monterey Jack & Colby Jack for my first attempt – both cheeses were great, but I wanted a little more OOMPH for the inside of my enchiladas – I introduced Pepper Jack and the deal was sealed. I will also insist that you hand-shred these cheese because this dish deserves the most delectable, melty, gooey cheese possible – obviously that’s what ANYBODY thinks of with Enchiladas – that delicious, soft & bubbly cheese-curtain on top!
The Mole Sauce – look. If you have it in you to make a homemade mole sauce, then allow me to bow down to you now. But I don’t. I’m not going to do any heritage a disservice and pretend to know anything about the hidden wonders of a Mole sauce. I purchased a Mole sauce concentrate & it has been DELICIOUS. Mix with a little water, fortify with some spices & you have a perfectly balanced Mole for your Sweet Potato Enchiladas!
Instructions, 1
Firstly, I’d prepare the Mole sauce – if it is a concentrate, then follow the directions on the jar & heat over low heat on the stove in a small pot. Add in the ½ TSP of the 3 spices : Cumin, Coriander, Garlic Powder. If your Mole sauce is Ret-Ta-Go direct from the jar, then congrats but you still need to heat it up on the stove & maybe taste it to see if it needs any of those extra spices.
Next, peel & prepare the Sweet Potato. I like to slice the Sweet Potato into medallions & then into 4ths for a good-sized bite. I put all those pieces into a microwavable dish with about 1/8 cup of water & microwave for 4-5 minutes to soften and help the texture when they are put into the skillet.
Dice all 3 peppers & sweet onion. Sautee about 5 minutes in a skillet over medium heat while you wait for the sweet potatoes to be done in the microwave. Once the sweet potatoes are out of the microwave, add them in with the peppers & onions and stir around over medium-high heat to get a little char on the sweet potatoes since they are soft!
Season the sweet potatoes, onions & peppers with the remaining ½ TSP of 3 spices as well as S+P to taste.
Heat the Refried Black Beans in a microwave safe dish just to get them stir-able so they are softened & heated through to easily spread onto the tortilla.
If you haven’t shredded your Pepper Jack & Monterey Jack cheese by now, then shit I suggest you do it.
Luckily, this recipe is pretty loosey-goosey so your Mole can continue to simmer low on the stove & the sweet potato mixture can hang tight in its skillet as well. Shredding the cheese shouldn’t take long but YOU BEST do it. None of that pre-shredded bag shit.
Now comes time for the assembly.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Choose a casserole skillet that will nestle your enchiladas snugly.
Instructions, 2
No need to spray with non-stick but empty a few spoonfuls of Mole sauce directly on the bottom of your chosen casserole dish in a thin, even layer.
Have the cheese, sweet potato / onion & pepper mixture, and refried Black Beans all ready to dish out with spoons and utensils ready to assemble all the goodness onto the tortilla.
Working 1 at a time, lay a tortilla flat and spoon a generous dollop of refried Black Beans onto the tortilla and spread around.
Next, sprinkle a small handful of Pepper Jack cheese directly overtop of the refried beans.
Next, take 2 -3 spoonfuls of the sweet potato / onion & pepper mixture and spoon directly overtop of the cheese & beans.
I am not entirely sure if there is a *right* way to roll an enchilada but you definitely want to keep as much of the goodness inside as you can & when you place each enchilada in the casserole dish, place it SEAM SIDE DOWN to create a seal of sorts.
Repeat until your casserole dish is full, or you have no more Sweet Potato / Onion & Pepper mixture – on average this makes between 6-7 well-stuffed enchiladas.
Top with the remaining Mole Sauce but don’t drown it – please reference my pictures.
Cover the Sweet Potato Enchiladas with the smattering of Monterey Jack Cheese – I love when it melts that perfect, oozy white pull of straight cheese with its spicy counterpart, Pepper Jack waiting inside each bite of these enchiladas!
Cover with tin foil & bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Uncover & bake another 10 minutes.
Garnish with chopped green onions & a dollop of sour cream!
Enjoy & watch the delight of whomever you’ve baked this for – such unassuming ingredients coming together to make a wholesome, hearty & healthy dish that’s MEATLESS! ((yea you probably forgot that this whole thing is sans-meat!))
Meatless Whenever
The thing about this dish that really entices me is that we enjoy Taco Tuesday & all the other fun soliloquies we all probably often think of when planning out our weekly menus. I just love the fact that my Sweet Potato Enchiladas have ingredients that are easily swappable if you aren’t a fan of Black Beans (regular refried beans) or if you don’t want too much spice (no chipotle powder or pepperjack cheese) to make this suit your family’s needs!
3 peppers, black beans, 2 cheeses, and a rich mole sauce to bring this dish all together will be the perfect break in rich holiday foods. I’ve seen a few riffs on other sweet potato enchilada recipes but I just cannottttt get behind quinoa in an enchilada – make it make sense. It’s a texture thing. Quinoa can be substituted for and in many things….but in my opinion, Mexican food is not one of them & damn sure not enchiladas.
Skillet charred Sweet Potatoes give this meal the toothsome bite it needs along with the hearty spread of refried black beans acting as the glue to hold everything together – give it a generous, melty topping of Monterey Jack cheese & you are THERE, my friend!
Actually, you’re already there if you’re making this *wink* be sure to put it in your rotation to give yourself an easy break from holiday cooking – something we all need, before we pull our hair out.
Thanks for stopping by!
I appreciate you stopping by! If you loved it, I’d love to hear from you.
If you hated it, then same.
Have a great day & look for my next entry!
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