What to make for the birthday dinner for one of my dearest friends of all time? Well…Mexican food of course. And something vegetarian for this particular friend. She was literally doing a happy dance in her chair while she was eating these enchiladas.
I first saw enchilada stacks in New Mexico, when I had huevos rancheros served this way in a little cafe outside of Taos. I fell in love with these little towers of tastiness. They are so much easier to make than rolled enchiladas but you still have individual servings which is a nice touch. For me the highlight of this recipe is the amazing verde sauce. It’s incredibly easy to make and so much better than anything you will find in a can. Next time I’m making a double batch so I can use it on about a dozen other things.
Black Bean Enchilada Stacks with Homemade Verde Sauce. Yum!
Black Bean Enchilada Stacks
Verde Sauce:
12 oz. tomatillos (7-8 large)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped roasted green chiles (canned works fine)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Filling:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped green chiles (canned is just fine)
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup sour cream
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt & pepper
Other Ingredients:
16 corn tortillas (for 4 stacks, add more tortillas for more stacks)
2 cups shredded jack/cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup chopped red or orange bell pepper
Make the sauce first. Remove husks and stems from tomatillos and wash. Add tomatillos to a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes until tender. Drain. Put tomatillos and other sauce ingredients in a blender and puree. Set aside.
In a bowl mix black beans and other filling ingredients. In a large casserole dish or jelly roll pan (use 2 pans if needed), spread 1/4 cup sauce on the bottom of the pan. Create 4-6 enchilada stacks (I made five), starting with a tortilla, then 1/3 of bean mixture, cheese, then tortilla, then 1/3 bean mixture, cheese, then tortilla, then 1/3 bean mixture, cheese, ending with a tortilla. Pour remaining sauce over the top of the stacks. Cover with the remaining shredded cheese. Garnish each stack with feta and peppers.
All stacked up and ready to go in the oven.
Bake at 375˚ for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and tortillas are starting to brown on the edges. Serve entire stack on a plate with extra sauce from the bottom of the pan spooned over the top. For lighter appetites, you may want to cut these in half, but we didn’t have any problem polishing off a whole stack each! This recipe will make 4-6 stacks.
3hungrymonkeys 