Black Bean & Sweet Potato Whole Grain Enchiladas with Avocado

One of my favorite things to eat on the planet is a giant bowl of tortilla chips alongside some fresh salsa and a pile of guacamole. There's something so creamy and addicting with that delicious crunch of the chips with the heat of the salsa and the softness of the smashed & seasoned avocados. It's the best! Whenever we get to go out to dinner, I will almost always suggest we hit up a Mexican food restaurant. Ryan can usually tell we're due to go on a date to dinner when I make some kind of a Mexican dish almost every night that week. The cravings come right out in my cooking, I guess. Thankfully, he loves that zesty bowl of guac and salsa just as much as I do, and happily eats yet another pan of enchiladas. 

This batch I think was one of our favorites. Strangely enough - it was totally meatless! No chicken, pork, beef, fish (never fish), etc. And you know what? Us carnivorous meat-chompers really didn't miss it. The sweet potatoes and beans were super-filling. The filling inside the tortillas reminded me of a really chunky salsa. And I've recently discovered how much fun it is to use that beautifully green salsa verde sauce versus the usual red. 

The process is pretty straight forward (and don't be afraid to sample a few tablespoons of the filling along the way). You can grill up the sweet potatoes in discs and then chop them up for the filling, or if it's still a little too chilly outside, you can cube them up and boil them until they're fork tender. Toss that in a bowl with black beans, green chiles, diced red onion, cilantro leaves, and a variety of taco seasonings. If you pour a little of the salsa verde in the baking dish before you lay those filling-loaded tortillas, it helps the tortillas to not burn in the bottom of the pan, and it helps seal the tortillas shut during the baking process. That way they don't fall apart when serving! My favorite part about these little babies was the toppings. Don't skimp on the toppings, friends. The enchiladas look beautiful coming out of the oven, but when topped with that bright green pile of avocados, fresh chopped tomatoes, and leafy cilantro, the dish looks even more gorgeous! Have a meatless night coming up? These enchiladas should be right at the top of that list :) 

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Black Bean & Sweet Potato Whole Grain Enchiladas

ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 C salsa verde, divided

1 C canned black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small can green chiles

1/2 C diced red onion

4 T chopped fresh cilantro leaves, divided

1 t chili powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t cumin

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 C shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, divided

10-12 small (6") whole grain tortillas

1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced/sliced

1 vine-on roma tomato, diced

method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot of boiling water, cook sweet potatoes until tender, about 10-15 minutes (depending on how big the pieces are); drain well and set aside. 

2. Spread 1 cup salsa verde in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish - set aside while you prepare the filling. 

3. In a large bowl stir together sweet potatoes, black beans, green chiles, red onion, 2 T cilantro, chili & garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste). 

4. To assemble the enchiladas, lay tortilla on a flat surface and scoop 1/4 cup sweet potato mixture in the center, then sprinkle with cheese. Roll the tortilla tightly, then place seam-side-down onto prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling mixture. Top with remaining salsa verde and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. 

5. Remove from oven and top with cilantro, avocado, and tomato. Serve with cilantro lime rice or mexican rice. 

Recipe adapted from: Damn Delcious