Garlic Black Bean Enchiladas

These chicken enchiladas are so good. They are, however, made using a packet of ready-made black bean sauce. I'm a big fan of making most things from scratch - so much so that it often doesn't occur to me that there's a quicker, ready-made way to do it - but this was different, partly because I just did a search for a black bean sauce recipe and couldn't find anything. Apparently black bean sauce isn't too hard to find in the Asian section of most supermarkets. If you see it, get it, and make this. It's brilliant.

Get some garlic too while you're there. This recipe, based on a Guardian Food garlic topping for patatas bravas, calls for five cloves of it. Pungent. Despite having two eggs in it, it went mousse-y rather than omelette-y, providing a really nice contrast to the much chewier texture of the chicken. Oh, and I also went waaay overboard on the chicken, using four whole chicken breasts for the meal. I recommend using two breasts and then adding half a head of broccoli cut into small florets, or some other vegetable or bean to bulk it up a bit. This also means that this could be adapted to make a pretty good vegetarian recipe.

Garlic Black Bean Enchiladas

(Printable Recipe)

Serves 2

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 onion

4 chicken breasts

(or 2 chicken breasts + vegetable/bean - see note above)

4 tablespoons seasoned flour

1 cup black bean sauce

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon chilli powder

Seasoning

2 eggs

5 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 cup oil

Seasoning

4 tortilla wraps

1 tin kidney beans

1/2 cup grated cheese

Chop the onion and fry it over a low flame in the tablespoon of oil until soft.

Cut the chicken into pieces as small as you have the patience for. If you are using vegetables in the enchilada filling as well, chop and boil them separately, or fry them with the chicken.

Toss the chicken pieces in a bag of seasoned flour to coat, and then add to the onion pan.

Once browned all over, add the cup of black bean sauce, along with cinnamon, chilli powder and seasoning. If you are using beans or boiled vegetables in the filling, add them to the pot now. Simmer until everything is slightly reduced - the sauce should be quite thick and clinging to the chicken, but not non-existent.

Peel and crush the garlic cloves, and put them in the blender with two eggs, one tablespoon of white wine vinegar, and a few dashes of oil. Blend. Add oil a little more at a time, blending in between, until you are happy with the consistency and amount of the sauce. You may not need to use the entire cup of oil. Season.

Drain the kidney beans and empty into a microwaveable container. Microwave on high for a minute, stir, and then microwave for thirty seconds longer. Tip the hot beans into the oven dish you will be using and mash roughly with a fork, leaving some beans intact. Cover the bottom of the dish with this, which is my easy version of refried beans.

Spoon one quarter of the black bean mixture into each wrap, fold up, and place on top of the mashed beans. Drizzle the garlic sauce over the top, sprinkle with some grated cheese, and bake at 200 degrees (390 Fahrenheit) for fifteen minutes.

Serve.