Budget Recipe 2: Corn & Beany Enchiladas

Corn & Beany Enchiladas, my kids loved this dish, and I would regard them as fussy! It’s just what’s needed on a cold wintery day, pure comfort food!

Cheese wasn’t in the budget and unsweetened plant yoghurt wasn’t available in the Aldi I shopped at, so I made a creamy topping out of nuts, soya milk and potato. I know it sounds strange but trust me- don’t knock it till you try it!

You can skip this step and grate some cheese over it or make some vegan parmesan which I’ve shared in a previous recipe (in a dry blender blitz equal parts cashews to nutritional yeast and add salt and garlic powder to taste). This is a crumb-like savoury topping that can be

added in the last few minutes of cooking to slightly brown on top of the dish. If you want to make the topping nut free, then use hemp seeds instead.

Although there are quite a few steps to this recipe, the filling of the enchiladas doesn’t require cooking and the ingredients just need to be chopped up and mixed in a bowl. You can use a chopper if this makes things easier for you. Most store-bought enchilada sauces can be full of additives and not kind to a budget. You can easily make a tasty budget-friendly enchilada sauce at home which you can freeze for later use.

You can top this with jalapeños if you like or serve with some mashed seasoned avocado, hot sauce or chilli flakes!

Ingredients

For the filling:

1 tin of (390 grams) cooked black beans drained and rinsed.

1 tin (340 grams) sweetcorn drained and rinsed.

1 red pepper diced finely.

2 tablespoons Cajun or fajita seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup cooked brown rice.

2 teaspoons smoked paprika.

2 teaspoons oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful of Chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

For the Sauce: 

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups tomato passata

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon sugar or sweetener of choice

1 teaspoon smoked paprika.

Wholewheat wraps (approximately 6-8)

For the Creamy Topping: 

100 grams cashews

1 medium potato

1.5 cups unsweetened soya milk

1.5 cups water

Salt, pepper and lemon/lime juice to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375F)

2. In a bowl, mix black beans, corn, red pepper, cajun/fajita seasoning, garlic powder, cooked brown rice, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, coriander, and pepper. (You may wish to reduce the quantity of cajun seasoning as it does contain chilli powder). Set aside.

3. In a pan, sauté the chopped onion and minced garlic until softened. (Add small splashes of water if the ingredients are sticking to the bottom of the pan) Add tomato passata, salt, pepper, sugar, and smoked paprika. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens.

4. Wash the potato and carefully cut some slits into it with a knife and put on a microwavable dish and microwave on high heat for 10 minutes until cooked through (alternatively steam your potato or boil it.)

5. Soak the cashews in a bowl with boiling water and leave for at least 10 minutes.

6. For the creamy topping, drain the cashews and add to a blender with the soya milk or any other plant milk, water, and potato after removing the skin. Blend until it forms a smooth and thick sauce. (You may wish to add water slowly in case your blender requires less water to blend the ingredients as you don’t want the sauce to be too watery) Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and blend again (I added 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.)

7. Spoon over a small amount of the enchilada sauce into a large lasagna/baking dish or spray the bottom of the dish with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil. (This is to prevent the wraps from sticking to the bottom of the dish)

8. To assemble the enchiladas, warm the wholewheat wraps slightly in the microwave on a microwaveable plate if they aren’t pliable (no more than 10-20 seconds each). Spoon the black bean and corn mixture onto each wrap, roll them up, and place them seam side down in the baking dish.

9. Pour the tomato sauce over the enchiladas, ensuring they are well-covered.

10. Spread the creamy topping over the enchiladas. You will have extra left over for dipping.

11. Cover the dish with baking paper and foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, checking after 20 minutes and leaving the top uncovered in the last 2-5 minutes of cooking to brown the edges/top. (All oven times vary so you can check with a knife and fork whether the enchiladas are warmed through.)

Enjoy your enchiladas as described above!