Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchilada Bake

Three days a week I get to spend the day with these lovely ladies in the Natural Chef program at Bauman College.  It is one of the most rewarding, and fun, experiences for me.  As their kitchen manager, I boss them around a lot (but they secretly like it, I'm sure), I look out for them, I feed them, I learn from them, and hopefully, they from me.

At the beginning of the semester I had to cook lunch for them each day until they had taken the requisite classes that would allow them to enter the kitchen.  Now I am back to cooking for them as they begin their business classes.  I asked them the other day what they would like me to fix, and they almost unanimously said, "Can you make that enchilada dish you made back in March?"  Happy to not reinvent the wheel, I was eager to comply.  The students have various food allergies and intolerances, so coming up with dishes that are gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free is not always the easiest thing.  But this meets all those requirements, and well, it's dang good!  The recipe looks a little daunting (i.e long!), but it's really very easy....don't be afraid!

First I roast these veggie to make a tomatillo salsa: tomatillos, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and tomatoes. Pop these in the oven with the sweet potatoes (no, no pic of the sweet potatoes, they're not sexy).  Only takes about 25 minutes.  Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeno, and the stems from the tomatoes, and puree in a food processor with a little olive oil.  Soooooo yummy!

While that's happening, roast a couple poblano or pasilla peppers over a flame or broil them if you don't have a gas stove.

When the sweet potatoes are done, scoop out the flesh and mash with a little lime juice, cumin and coriander.

Mash the beans with a little lime juice and salt.

Chop the poblano pepper into bite-sized pieces.

Get your salsa ready, and here we go.....

I like to lay the tortillas flat, rather than rolling- it's just easier, and I dig easier! 

Pour enough salsa to cover the bottom of an 11X7 baking dish. Lay 4 tortillas on top, then place half the sweet potato mixture, half the black bean mixture, and half the peppers on top of the tortillas.  Pour on a little more salsa to cover.  Top with 4 more tortillas and the remaining sweet potato, black beans and pepper.  Add a little more salsa, and then top with remaining 4 tortillas.  Cover the top with salsa.  Bake for about 25 minutes, and top with sliced avocado.  Yep, you can thank me later!  The ladies requested this again for a reason, peeps!

I served it with cilantro lime rice (now you've got that complete protein thing going), and a refreshing watermelon, mint and arugula salad, with a honey-lime dressing.  Happy dance, for sure!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchilada Bake

Serves 6-8

Sweet potato mixture

3 lbs sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons lime juice

½ teaspoon sea salt

Tomatillo Salsa

1 ½ lbs tomatillos, remove husks and rinse

2 medium onions, peeled and quartered

2 large heirloom tomatoes

1 jalapeno pepper

4 medium cloves garlic, skin removed

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon pepper

Black Beans

2 cans black beans

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons coriander

2 poblano or pasilla peppers

12 corn tortillas

1 avocado, thinly sliced

·         Preheat oven to 400°.

·         Pierce sweet potatoes all over with a fork.  Place on a parchment paper-lined- baking sheet and bake 45-60 minutes until cooked through.  Remove from oven and let cool until ready to handle.

·         Meanwhile place tomatillos, onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, and garlic on a parchment paper-lined- baking sheet and roast in same oven for 20-30 minutes until blistered and browned.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Remove stem and seeds from jalapeno.

·         Puree roasted vegetables in a food processor or blender, with lime juice, oil, salt, cumin and pepper.

·         When potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skin and mash pulp in a large bowl.  Add lime juice and salt, stirring to combine.

·         In a separate bowl, mash beans slightly, adding lime juice, cumin and coriander.

·         Chop peppers and set aside.

·         To assemble, lightly cover the bottom of an 11X7 baking dish with salsa.  Top with 4 tortillas, half the sweet potato mixture, half the black bean mixture, half the peppers, and a little more salsa. Repeat with another layer using the remaining half of the sweet potatoes, beans and pepper.  Add a little more salsa and cover with 4 more corn tortillas.  Cover the top with salsa and bake 20-30 minutes until cooked through.  Top with sliced avocado.

Shepherd-ish Pie

I was housesittiing for a friend the past 11 days and away from my computer, but I am back with a blogging vengeance.  The weather had turned cold here in the Bay Area, and that makes me want to cook warm, comforting foods.... like my version of a shepherd's pie.  Mashed potatoes may very well be my favorite food, and I'm a huge fan of one pot meals, so years ago when I first heard about this dish with meat and veggies topped with mashed potatoes, I was in!

Now, friends have told me I should never tell this story (it doesn't really instill confidence in my cooking), but it was years ago, and it's a good one, so here goes... my first crack at Shepherd's Pie.

I think it was Real Simple magazine that had a recipe each month that was a kind of "cheat" version, a short cut of a more complicated dish.  I should have known it wouldn't end well because A) every time I've taken a "short cut" to avoid traffic, it ends up taking me much longer than if I had just stayed on the highway and B) the recipe called for boxed mashed potatoes, which shouldn't be consumed by anyone not living in a dorm.

I'm still going to maintain that the recipe could've been written better, but even my friend Jacqueline who admittedly doesn't cook, started laughing so hard that she was crying when I said that since the recipe didn't say to cook the fake potatoes first, I just sprinkled them on top...the whole 4 cups of them!  So that was a disaster and went right into the trash.   I think I ate cereal that night.

A couple days later I decided that this recipe was NOT going to get the best of me, so I tried again.  This time I cooked the potatoes first, but again I maintain that the recipe wasn't written well... what I eventually figured out was that they were going for 4 cups of cooked potatoes.  The reicpe, however, just said "4 cups instant mashed potates", so I cooked 4 cups of the flakes, which yielded a boatload of cooked potatoes.  And, you guessed it, I went ahead and threw them right on top of my meat and veggie mixture, all the while saying "this just doesn't seem right."  The weight of the mountain of potatoes reduced the rest of the food to about 1/4 inch.  While that attempt was edible from an "at least it won't make you sick" standpoint, it was pretty much inedible.  So I threw out the recipe and the idea that I would ever make shepherd's pie again.

But today's a new day, and I'm a much better cook.  Sorry guys, this is one of my no-recipe dishes - I think I'm categorically opposed to writing a recipe for it given my history.  But it's super simple and adaptable; just remember to taste as you go when you start seasoning.

I start with baking about 4 large sweet potaotes (you can use the traditional russet potatoes, but sweet potaotes give it a nice flavor and are full of antioxidants.  Best of all, they help stabilize blood sugar levels and inprove the body's use of insulin.  I have a nephew with Type 1 diabetes, so I am always looking for good food to help him out.  If you are caring for anyone with diabetes, get sweet potaotes on your menu.

While the potatoes are baking, saute 1 chopped medium onion in a tablespoon of olive oil.  After about 5 minutes add whatever veggies you like; I use chopped bell peppers, carrots and corn (frozen works, too). Peas are a traditional veggie in a shepherd's pie, but I'm not a big fan.

After another 5 minutes or so, add 1 1/2 pounds of lean ground turkey, and your favorite seasonings.  I like to use thyme, smoked paprika, garlic powder and sage.  Just sprinkle a little at a time and taste as you go.  Remember you can always add more, but you can't take it away.  Cook until turkey is no longer pink.

When potaotes are done, split them open and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.  In a large bowl mash the potatoes with a splash of milk, 1 or 2 tablespoons butter and a couple teaspoons of  pure maple syrup. 

Fill a cassetrole dish with the meat and veggie mixture and top with the sweet potaotes.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Who the heck needs a short cut?!