Chicken Enchiladas with Refried Black Beans

I am in love with Mexican food these days. Literally cannot get enough of it, where has guacamole been all my life?! However, as will become apparent, I’m really not a big red meat fan. I like putting chicken in EVERYTHING. And that’s how this meal came about. You don’t have to go with the beans, but you definitely should because they’re delicious. You can even find them in Tescos.

Ingredients for the chicken enchiladas:

• 3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless. Sliced into strips
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 pepper, sliced
• 1 and a half  red onions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or chopped finely
• 1 chilli, deseeded
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 200ml passata

Ingredients for the sauce

• 400 ml passata
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 squares dark chocolate
• 1 tsp paprika
• 0.5 tsp cumin
• 0.5 tsp turmeric
• 0.5 tsp chilli powder
• Handful of grated cheese for the topping
• 4 big tortillas

Ingredients for the refried beans

• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 a small red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tsp paprika
• 300g black turtle beans, pre-soaked
• 1tbsp butter

Start off by prepping the beans the night before: put your beans in a big bowl, cover with cold water up to 2 inches above the surface of the beans and let soak overnight. If you, like me, forget to do things like this often, you can soak for an an hour to an hour and a half in boiling water.

Once they are sufficiently steeped, drain them and set aside. Heat 1 tsp of oil and add in garlic and onion. Cook gently for 5 minutes until translucent. Throw in paprika and stir for a minute. Then add in the refried beans and cover with 750 ml of water. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 1-1.5 hours.

This allows you to get a start on the enchiladas.

Heat the oil and stir in the spices and garlic. Add in the onion and fry for the next few minutes until softened and cooked.

Add in pepper and the deseeded chilli. Leave the seeds in if you want a more kick! Cook for five more minutes.

In the meantime, heat some oil in a pan, and fry the chicken until golden brown. When cooked, add to the veggie mix. Add the passata to the chicken and vegetable pan and cook for a few more minutes.

For the enchilada sauce, you can reuse the chicken-pan. Throw in the passata and garlic and let bubble away for a minute. Then add in the spiced and chocolate and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes until thickened slightly and the chocolate has melted, giving the sauce a richer colour.

To assemble the enchiladas:

Divide the chicken and veggies between the tortillas. Wrap up in a parcel and make sure the ends are tucked in. This calls for a assembly montage!

I normally place a line of filling in the centre, leaving an inch at the top and bottom..

 Roll one side over the filling..

 then tuck in both ends..

..and roll the rest over.

Place in an ovenproof dish, stacked up against one another. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle over the grated cheese.

Forgot to add cheese before taking the picture because I am terrible at this.

Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 25 minutes. Alternately you can take 1/3 of the sauce and pour it in the bottom of the ovenproof dish before stacking in the enchiladas.

While the enchiladas are cooking, finish off the beans:

Drain the excess cooking water and place back on the heat. Add a tbsp of butter and mash. You can add slightly more water if  the end product comes out too thick. I have no pictures of the process because I don't know why.

Can be served with rice, guacamole, sweet potatoes, or with a simple salad.