Enchiladas are basically a Mexican wrap, filled with meat, cheese or vegetables and traditionally dipped in chilli sauce.
Authentic enchilada sauces are therefore usually spicy, but as I've used beef chilli as the filling in this recipe, I've created a simple tomato sauce to cover the enchiladas prior to baking.
I've used chilli powder and ancho chilli paste as the main heat element. The ancho chilli adds a real depth of flavour to the dish, giving it a lovely rich, smoky taste.
Oaxaca cheese is a Mexican cheese that is used in many Mexican dishes, but as an alternative, I've found a combination of Manchego and Cheddar work really well (although Cheddar on it's own is fine, if you can't find Manchego).
Serves 4-6
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large white onion
1 large red pepper
I green pepper
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of chilli powder (mild or hot to taste)
1 teaspoon of ancho chilli paste
2 teaspoons of paprika
2 teaspoons of cumin
400g beef mince
400g can of chopped tinned tomatoes
300ml beef stock
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of dried oregano
1 cinnamon stick
Seasoning
400g can of black beans
400g can of red kidney beans
2 squares of dark cooking chocolate
Red chilli paste (optional)
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
- Deseed the peppers and cut into approx 1cm pieces.
- Dice the onion.
- Drain the beans and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof pan or casserole.
- Once the oil is up temperature, add the onion and pepper and sauté until the onion is translucent.
- Add the crushed garlic and dry spices. Stir for a further 1-2 minutes, being careful not to let the garlic burn.
- Add the minced beef and sauté until no pink meat remains.
- Pour in the chopped tomatoes and beef stock, then stir in the ancho chilli paste, beans, tomato paste, dried oregano, cinammon stick and seasoning. Stir to combine.
- Bring the chilli to the boil then cover and place in the hot oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add the chocolate. Stir well and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and add adjust to taste (if you want more heat, simply add ½-1 teaspoon of chilli paste).
