Kale and Black Bean Enchiladas with Green Sauce

I'm not gonna lie - this recipe takes a little bit of time and effort. However, it's worth every minute, AND you can make a big tray of these enchiladas and enjoy them throughout the week. They're packed with good-for-you kale, and the creamy cilantro-scallion-coriander-cumin sauce is so good that I had to stop myself from eating it with a spoon! Adapted from epicurious.

Sauce

• 1/2 16-ounce package frozen chopped kale, available at Whole Foods. You could also use fresh kale for this - just wash and chop it into small pieces first. Alternately, you can easily sub in other green ingredients, like spinach.
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
•  2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 green onions, minced (I included the white parts)
• About 2-3 tablespoons sliced jalapenos from a jar. (Can be upped or decreased based on your spice preferences)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Enchiladas

• 12 6-inch corn tortillas
• 1/2 16-ounce package of frozen kale or spinach (again, it's fine to use fresh - just wash and chop first)
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander

• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, or extra milk

For sauce:
Warm the frozen kale or spinach until it's just melted, but not hot. (I usually dump it in a pan with a little water, heat it for a few minutes, then drain it well. If you're using fresh, you can use the same method - just stir it around in a pan with a little bit of water over medium heat until it wilts). Set aside. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add flour and stir mixture 2 minutes; do not brown. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in half the kale/spinach, the 1/2 cup cilantro, 2 green onions, chilies, cumin, coriander and red pepper. Puree in batches in processor until almost smooth. (If it's a little dry, you can add more milk at this stage). Season with salt and pepper. 

For enchiladas:
Combine the rest of the kale or spinach with the black beans, cheddar, and the rest of the cilantro, green onion, cumin, and coriander. Warm the tortillas so they're a little more flexible (I stuck mine in the microwave). Place a few spoonfuls of the filling (about 1/4 cup) in the middle of each tortilla, then roll it up. Place seam side down in large glass baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir sour cream into sauce, and pour over enchiladas. Bake until cheese melts and enchiladas are heated through, about 25 minutes.

Guest Post: Bonnie's Sweet Potato Faux-Rizo Stew

Drool.

Hello fellow lovers of vegetarian food! Since Lisa and Laurel are busy doing other things, I've snuck in to give you all a fabulous guest post. You've seen my recipes on here before, but this time I've fully commandeered the rig. So let's get to it.

This recipe is one of my Grammy's favorites, albeit I tweaked it a bit to fit my particular taste profile, which is spicier and more robust. I call it faux-rizo sweet potato stew. I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
1 tsp ground ginger (original recipe calls for fresh. I also used more.)
1 1/2 C sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 bell peppers (I used red and yellow), chopped
1 tsp garam masala (I used more)
Cayenne or your favorite powdered heat, to taste
1/2 C vegetable broth
1 can black beans, drained
1 package soy chorizo (I used tofurky's just to try it, but trader joe's is just as good and much cheaper)
Salt and pepper
Tortillas
Lime for garnish, as you like

Method:
In a soup pot or large skillet you can cover, saute onion, garlic, ginger, and bell peppers in oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sweet potatoes, garam masala, and cayenne and mix well. Add veggie broth, then cover and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender. Add beans and soyrizo and cook another 5 minutes until heated through. Add salt and pepper and adjust other seasonings to your liking. Serve immediately with hot tortillas, garnished with lime. Enjoy!