You can feed a crowd with this easy, no-rolling required enchilada bake. Simply layer corn tortillas with a cumin and chipotle-infused filling of chard, corn, sweet potato and black beans and top with zesty enchilada verde sauce and cheese.
Best of all, it can be made up ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to bake, making weeknight family dinners, meal trains, potlucks — or, in my case tonight, hosting a last-minute letter writing party for upcoming elections — a total breeze.
Remember, fillings are flexible! Substitute butternut squash for the sweet potato, if you have one from your CSA box, or pinto beans for the black beans. You can find dried chipotle chiles in the bulk bin section of many grocery stores or in packages at Latin groceries. Or, alternatively, throw in a little ground chipotle powder. If you want to make your enchilada sauce from scratch, go for it! The point is enchiladas are always delicious, so do whatever works for you.
Chard and Sweet Potato Green Enchilada Bake
Serves 8 to 10
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 dried chipotle chile, broken into a couple large pieces
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 bunch chard
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
Salt
2 to 3 cups green enchilada sauce (jarred or from scratch)
12 corn tortillas, cut in half
1½ cups shredded Oaxaca cheese (or Jack cheese)
For serving: thinly sliced green onions, sour cream
DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, chipotle, and cumin seeds and saute for 5 to 7 minutes or until they soften.
Meanwhile, separate the leaves from the chard stems and finely chop the stems, adding them to the onions (finely chop and set aside the leaves for later). Saute for a few more minutes before adding the sweet potatoes. When the sweet potatoes are nearly tender, turn off the heat and stir in the chopped chard leaves, corn and beans and season generously with salt. Remove and discard the chipotle pieces.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Pour about ½ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Top with a single layer of tortillas, placing their cut edges along the edges of the pan and two halves in the center to cover completely. Top with half of the sweet potato mixture and a third of the cheese. Repeat with another layer of corn tortillas, ½ cup enchilada sauce and the rest of the sweet potato filling before topping with the last layer of corn tortillas. Cover the tortillas with the remaining enchilada sauce and top with the shredded cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Serve with sliced green onions and sour cream.
Registered dietitian and food writer Laura McLively is the author of “The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook.” Follow her at @myberkeleybowl and www.lauramclively.com.
