Enchilada Beans

*updated* it's all in the name

After a brief bean hiatus, I’m back on my bullshit and deeply in love with beans. They are a cornerstone of so many world cuisines, but I think it’s their ubiquity that makes them come off as mundane. We need to reframe our thoughts on beans because they’re too universal to be seen as anything but magic. Beans can do anything. I would vote for Jo Chickpea as president in a second if they showed up on my ballot. Lentils want to colonize the moon? Let’s go! Beans and pulses will save us, I swear. This week we are focusing on a big pan of beans that taste like a deconstructed enchilada. With no further thought I called this dish:  Enchilada Beans.

I used dried chiles for this recipe because I wanted that full flavor, but I’ve got a sub in there for those of you who will need to use a blended chile powder. So no excuses ok? The sauce has an extra special something thanks to the smoky creaminess brought by the addition of tahini. Obviously, this is not a typical ingredient, but sesame seeds have been used in various types of mole and other dishes since the Spaniards introduced them to the Americas so I’m not totally out of my mind here. Also, I added masa harina to the sauce to both help thicken it up and to hint at the taste of corn tortillas that have been soaked in the enchilada sauce. If you don’t have it at home, you can use a fine or medium ground cornmeal or corn flour in its place. No problem. I like the beans extra saucy, but you can use as much or as little of the sauce as you like, no less than 1 ½ cups though. The remaining sauce freezes well but you just want to simmer it on low for 10 minutes to cook the flavors all together and thicken it up a little before you use it to make proper enchiladas. Just remember that. I like to serve it with a citrusy cabbage slaw like the everyday cabbage slaw from Hungry as Hell but whatever you’re into is fine.

If you don’t have an oven safe pan, you can just simmer this on your stovetop, uncovered for at least 20 minutes, stirring often. You want the beans to soak up all that flavor, to cook the sweet potatoes until they’re tender, and thicken up that sauce. I like to put it in the oven so that I don’t have to babysit it while I clean up and get all the stuff ready to serve it but that’s my personal laziness. You do you.

Enchilada Beans

Makes enough for 4-6

Enchilada Style Sauce

About 4 cups

2 guajillo or California chiles*

2 dried ancho chiles*

1 ½ cups hot broth or water

½ white onion, chopped into quarters

one 15 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons masa harina

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

One bell pepper, chopped

1 sweet potato, skinned and chopped into pieces the size of the bean you’re using, about 3 cups

3 cups cooked pinto or similar style bean, or two 15 ounce cans, drained and rinsed

First, we’re gonna start the sauce, then prep our other veggies, and then finish the sauce right before we start cooking. Ready?

First grab a large braiser or fry pan with a lid. Warm this up over a high heat and throw in the chiles until they start to soften a little and toast. Don’t let them burn, about 2 minutes each side. Once they are warmed up, remove the seeds from the inside then throw them in the blender. Pour over the hot broth or water and then use the white onion wedges to hold them under the surface so that all the chile flesh can rehydrate. Let this sit for at least 15 minutes while you chop up the yellow onion, bell pepper, and sweet potato for the pot of beans. Sure you could scroll on your phone but why not make the most of your time waiting on those chiles huh?

OK, once the chiles have softened and you’ve prepped your other veggies, we can finish the sauce. Add the can of fire roasted tomatoes, garlic cloves, oregano, coriander, cumin, tahini, masa harina, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, and salt to the blender and then run that shit. Run it for at least a minute to make sure everything is thoroughly blended up. No chunks allowed. You should get around 4 cups. Set it aside. Warm up your oven to 400 F degrees.

Back in your braiser pan, warm it up over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Throw in the onion with a pinch of salt and sauté until they start to soften and look translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper and sweet potato and keep sautéing until the onions are starting to brown in some spots, about another 5 minutes. Add the beans, stir, then pour over the 4 cups of the enchilada style sauce. It’s going to look like too much, but it will thicken as it cooks. Let this come to a simmer, stir, then cover, and stick the pan in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take it out of the oven, stir, then stick it back in the oven uncovered for 10 more minutes. When it comes out, stir again, and taste. Add more salt or whatever you think it needs.

Serve warm with a side of corn tortillas, lime wedges, sliced avocado, some nondairy crema, and the everyday slaw from Hungry as Hell.

*can’t find chiles? You can always sub in ¼ cup of your favorite chile powder blend. Just reduce the water or broth amount by ½ cup and taste as you go in case it needs more. The sauce won’t be as thick, but it should still be delish, depending on your chile powder.

Thanks so much for joining me here at Stir the Pot. Over on my website, I’ve got all the recipes from The Broiler Room up in a searchable index for you to use with ease right HERE. Any additional recipes I post on social media will go there too. Next week I’m rolling out some new features too so keep your eyes peeled! Still no a paying subscriber? You know what to do.

Xoxo

Michelle