Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas with Coriander Cashew Cream
I used to eat enchiladas all the time when I went to my best friend’s house after school, it was my favourite dinner her mum did but I hadn’t had them since I was about 15. I agreed to cook Mexican inspired food for my sister and the memory of cheesy enchiladas suddenly came back to me and I knew I had to create a vegan version.
I used butternut squash, a red pepper, sweet corn, kale and black beans to make the vegetable filling for my enchiladas. I roasted the butternut squash separately to make the most of it’s flavour. Butternut squash is low in calories and carbohydrates but is super high in Vitamin A and the B-complex group of vitamins like folates, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamine, and pantothenic acid. The enchilada filling could also be used to fill burritos, and wraps on its own. You can also get really creative with what is inside your enchiladas, I used the veg I mostly already had in (I brought the butternut squash but that was it).
The wraps I used were gluten free and found in the free from section in Sainsbury’s but you can sub them for any tortilla wraps depending on your dietary requirements.
The cashew cream that tops these enchiladas was my substitute for cheese and I got a consensus that it worked really well. Adding the coriander to the cream gave it a great complimenting flavour for all the Mexican spices. I soaked my cashews as soon as I got back from buying the ingredients, and they had way longer than the minimum 3 hours, but that’s fine they can’t be soaked for too long! You can soak them overnight if you are one of those people who is organised and knows what they are cooking before they do it (I’m so not one of those people).
These enchiladas, were spicy and comforting, definitely perfect for a Monday evening. Is Mexican Mondays a thing? if not it should be! They even had the power to evoke happy teenage memories, what more can you ask of food?
Ingredients
For the sauce
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 fresh chilli (finely diced)
500g jar passata
100ml of veg stock
Enchilada filling
1 butternut squash
2 cloves of garlic
1 tin of black beans (in water)
1 red pepper
1 tin of sweet corn
2 cups of kale
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (add more to taste, I wanted to keep this fairly mild)
Cashew Cream
1 cup of cashews soaked in 1 cup of water (for a minimum of 3 hours)
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1 teaspoon of garlic granules
1 bunch of fresh coriander
6 gluten free tortilla wraps
Avocado to serve (optional)
Method
1) Peel and dice your butternut squash. Place the squash on a baking tray and season with salt and paper, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and place in the oven at 200'c for half an hour or until the squash is starting to brown.
2) Dice your onion and garlic and fry in a small amount of oil until the onion is translucent and browning. Add the coriander, cumin, paprika and chilli and fry for a further minute.
3) Add the passata and stock to your spicy onions, bring to the boil and then turn the heat down and leave the sauce to simmer for at least half an hour.
4) Drain the black beans and heat in a frying pan in a small amount of oil, stirring constantly, until steam is rising of the beans.
5) Add the garlic, paprika, cumin, coriander, tarragon, cinnamon and cayenne pepper to the beans and heat for a further minute.Dice the pepper and add that and the kale to the pan. Stir fry until the veg has softened.
6) Once the butternut squash is roasted add this to this to the pan. Drain the sweetcorn and add that too.
7) Place the tortilla wraps in the microwave for 20 seconds to soften them and make them easy to fold.
8) Assemble the enchiladas by wrapping the enchilada filling in the tortilla wraps and folding. Place in a shallow casserole dish with the seam of the wrap facing down(so that it won't unwrap during cooking).
9) pour the sauce over the wraps and place the dish in the oven for 15 minutes at 200'c.
10) Place the cashews, water lime, garlic granules and the fresh coriander in a food processor and blitz until the mixture is fairly smooth and has a cream like texture.
11) Remove the enchiladas from the oven and spread the cashew cream over the enchiladas. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes, the cahsew cream should slightly darken in colour and the edges of the pan should be browning.