Whenever the sun is out I feel like I crave light meals with fresh zingy flavours and a hearty does of vegetables. One of the things that has been missing in my life since I moved to Scotland has been good Mexican food. So inspired by summer and a tangy Mexican palette I give you my favourite enchiladas. I make my enchiladas with zucchini slices rather than corn bread because too many heavy carbs usually means I have to take a nap right after dinner. The sauce will work just as well using a more traditional recipe; so if you want to use corn bread knock yourself out! The most important part about enchiladas is the sauce, you want to get it right. It has to be the correct balance of spicy to tangy, salty to sweat and nice and thick!
In this recipe I’m using spicy kidney beans as a filling however cooked peppers and mushrooms (or mince for meat eaters) will work as well.
For this recipe you will need;
- One onion, I like to use red but white will be fine.
- One can of kidney beans
- Fresh chillies or your favourite chilli past, sauce or powder.
- A pinch of cinnamon
- Salt and pepper to tase
- Olive oil
- Grated cheese for your topping (cheddar or mozzarella)
- Two cloves of garlic, crushed
- One tbsp of tomato paste
For the sauce you will need;
- Four tbls of olive oil
- Half tsp of Kanye pepper
- One tsp of Cumin
- One tsp of galic powder, 1 1/2 cloves fresh crushed galic
- Two tsp of dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- One tbls tomato paste
- Three tsp of apple cider or white wine viniagr
- A squeeze of lime.
- Two tbls of plain all purpose flour.
- I like to add about 1/4 of a cup of fresh cilantro, however you can adjust to taste.
- One cup of stock.
Sauce;
Heat oil in a saucepan, add cumin, Kenya pepper, garlic powder, oregano, tomato paste, flour and stir into paste. Add stock and bring to simmer. At this point your sauce should be nice and thick! add your cilantro, vinegar and lime. Simmer for roughly five minutes.
Filling;
Dice and fry your onion in olive oil until transparent, add crushed garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon and tomato paste. Strain and rinse the kidney beans and then add to mixture and chillies. Stir occasionally and cook for approx ten minutes on a medium heat.
Enchiladas;
Use a vegetable slicer to cut your courgettes into long thin slices. Lay them on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil bake for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat. You want them to be soft but not squishy. This can also be down under the grill if you prefer. Lay the courgette slices three or four wide so the edges are overlapping, add a spoonful of your filling and roll into little sausage shapes and then place in a baking dish.
Pour your sauce over zucchini rolls, top with cheese and bake for 25-30 mins at 180 (gas mark 4).
Try serving with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, chopped cilantro and corn on the cob.
Soul Scran 