Vegetarian Enchiladas

These vegetarian enchiladas are a delicious, meat-free meal that is filling, comforting and fill your soul with deliciousness! I hope you try it; they are an easy and quick recipe to make and I hope that you share them with your friends and family.

Ingredients

Sauce

-         800g Can crushed tomatoes

-         1 Large brown onion, chopped finely

-         1-2 Garlic cloves, crushed

-         1/3 Cup pizza sauce or tomato paste

-         2 tsp smoked paprika

-         1 1/2tsp ground cumin

-         ½ tsp ground coriander

-         Pinch of chilli

-         1 stock cube (vegetable)

Filling

-         1 Red capsicum, diced

-         1 Yellow capsicum, diced

-         1 Red onion, finely diced

-         1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

-         1 ½ tsp ground cumin

-         ½ ts ground coriander

-         Pinch chilli

-         1-2 cloves of garlic

-         400g crushed tomatoes

-         420g (1 tin) of canned corn kernels, drained and washed

-         420g (1 tin) of canned black beans, drained and washed

-         420g (1 tin) of canned red kidney beans, drained and washed

Other

-         10-12 flour tortillas (this depends on how full you like your enchiladas)

-         Olive oil for frying

-         Grated cheese for the top (I like a mixture of mozzarella for that beautiful stringy-ness and cheddar for

flavour)

Equipment

-         Saucepan

-         Frying pan

-         Spatula

-         Chopping board

-         Knives

-         Oven

-         Baking Tray

- Sieve (if needed)

The best way to start a recipe is to prepare your ingredients before you start.

For the sauce:

Chop your onions roughly (you will be blending this later to make the sauce smooth so size doesn't matter here).

Crush your garlic in a garlic press or chop very fine.

For the filling:

Try to chop all the vegetables about the same size so that the vegetables cook at the same time.

For the red onion, peel the outer layer off, cut in half and then cut into it twice on the horizontal plane, then place the onion flat on the chopping board and make small cuts along the onion (as shown), this will ensure small, even pieces of onion.

For the capsicums cut it into large slices and remove any white pulp (this can make it bitter), then cut into thin strips and chop so that it is a similar size to the onions.

To make the sauce, in a frying pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil and brown the onions on a medium-high heat, this should take a few minutes. Add a tsp of salt here to help bring the moisture out of the onions and brown them quicker. You can also do this in your saucepan.

Then place the onions in a saucepan, followed by the crushed tomatoes, garlic, spices, tomato paste, and vegetable stock cube, and mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then bring it to a slow boil, once it bubbles turn it to a low heat and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes whilst you make your filling.

When your sauce is cooked then blitz with a stick blender until nice and smooth.

In the frying pan, heat another tablespoon of olive oil on a medium heat and cook your red onions for a few minutes until they soften and lighten in colour. Then add the red and yellow capsicum and stir for another few minutes. Then add the garlic and stir for 2 minutes until it becomes fragrant. Finally add the corn, black beans and red kidney beans, crushed tomatoes and spices and stir for a few minutes and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes to let the flavours mingle together. Then add salt and pepper to taste.

Now that we have the filling and sauce ready, it's time to assemble the enchiladas. Take your flour tortilla and place some filling in the middle and wrap it together. Then place the enchilada “seam side down” into the baking tray and repeat with the remaining enchiladas. The number you make depends on how much filling you put in, I like them chunky so I get about 8 big ones.

Once your enchiladas are in your trays, pour your sauce over the top and then sprinkle your cheese on top. Then place in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (355F) for about 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.

Allow the enchiladas to sit for a couple of minutes before serving. I like to serve this with a lovely salad, but they are also great on their own. I hope that you try this recipe, it is one of my favourite meat-free meals!!