Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

These chicken and black bean enchiladas are made with corn tortillas are wrapped around tender chicken, black beans and cheese and smothered with spicy homemade enchilada sauce, then baked till the cheese is all bubbly and more-ish. Never use that packet or canned enchilada sauce again! Homemade is simple and way more delicious. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your scheduled Middle Eastern meal, part 2, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!  Which, by the way, is in no way the celebration of Mexico’s independence from anywhere.  Historically, it commemorates the Mexican Army’s unexpected victory over French forces in 1862.  Guess which date?  But in the southern United States, it has become a day to honor and celebrate Mexican heritage and culture.  We held our own little celebration with margaritas and chicken enchiladas right here in Cairo.  Just like the American Association of Malaysia used to have a Cinco de Mayo party.  (Remind me to tell you of the time we made a HUGE soccer ball piñata and I cooked Spanish rice for 100 - in a Styrofoam cooler.  It’s a great recipe!)  It is what expats do.   Any excuse for a celebration that reminds us of home.

Ingredients

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons dark chili (seasoning) powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin powder

2 medium onions

1 14 oz or 398g can crushed tomatoes

Olive oil

For the filling:

1 teaspoon sea salt

18oz or 520g skinless boneless chicken breasts

140g cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheeses

1 14 oz or 398g can black or pinto beans

(3/4 cup or 180ml of the sauce)

To assemble:

12 fresh soft white corn tortillas

140g Cheddar and/or Jack cheeses

Method

Fill a pot with enough water to cover your chicken breasts.  Bring it to the boil and add the chicken breasts and the sea salt.  

Once it begins to boil again, turn it down to simmer and cover.  Cook gently for about 10-15 minutes or until the chicken breasts are cooked through.  Take them out and allow them to cool.  (This can be done a day ahead.)

Next, chop your onions and sauté them in a generous amount of olive oil.   

Once the onions have softened, add in the chili powder, the cumin and the crushed tomatoes.  

Add an extra tomato can of water to the pot.  Bring to the boil and then simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Grate your cheese/cheeses and set aside.

Rinse the canned beans.

Chop the cooled chicken up into small pieces.

When the sauce has simmered for about 20-30 minutes, give it a last good stir and take it off the fire.  

Add 3/4 cup or 180ml of the sauce to the chicken.  Stir thoroughly then add 140g (or half the total) cheese and stir again.  Add in the rinsed beans and mix once more.

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Spread some sauce in the bottom of your baking dish.

Taking one soft tortilla at a time (I covered the others with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out.) add the filling and fold in the sides.  Place seam side down in the baking pan.  Continue until all the tortillas are filled. 

Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas and spread it around. 

If there is any filling left over, this can be sprinkled on the top the sauce.  Top with the remaining cheese. 

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and brown the cheese under the broiler or grill for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Serve with a side of sliced avocado with a little lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  And a margarita. Don’t forget the margarita!

Enjoy!

Shish Tawook – Middle East Meal, Part 1

Shish Tawook translated means skewered chicken. From the Middle East, this dish is made with chicken tenderized by a yogurt-based marinade and pan-fried or grilled until slightly charred.

When we first moved to Kuala Lumpur a long, long time ago, our daughters took piano lessons from a lovely lady we called Aunty Esther at a small but busy studio behind the Ampang Point Mall. So I got to go there at least once a week.  Which became twice a week when younger daughter decided to also continue her violin lessons. 

I would make sure they were safely in class, then mill around for an hour.  One day, right outside the supermarket Giant, I happened to meet the owner of a little food stand called Tarbush. They sold shawarmas – chicken and lamb – and we had a great discussion of the Middle East (I had lived in Abu Dhabi years before and he was from Lebanon.) I told him he needed to start selling some of the other delicious foods from that area, like falafel and hummus and tabouli. He was just starting out but said he was planning to expand one day soon. 

If you live in KL or have traveled there, you know his dream came true!  He started by opening a proper restaurant there in Ampang Point and there are now Tarbush restaurants in several high profile locations.  Our favorite was still Ampang Point though, because it was so close to home and school. Sadly, I don’t remember his name but I like to think we played a small part in his success by our frequent patronage of his fledgling restaurant chain.

Once the restaurant opened, younger daughter always, and I mean always, got the shish tawook.   I made it the other night, thinking about her and mentally wishing her well in these final weeks of her freshman year at RISD.  Even though she is now a vegetarian.  Never mind that, her daddy and I loved it.  It's the thought that counts, right?

Ingredients

1/4 cup or 60ml plain yogurt

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 tablespoons or 45ml fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon flakey sea salt

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Method

Put all the ingredients except the chicken into a Ziploc bag and mix well. 

Clean the extra fat and sinews off of the breasts and cut them into bite-sized pieces.   Pop them in the bag with the marinade and massage it until the chicken is well-coated.  Let this marinate for as long as you have or at least one hour.

When you are ready to cook the shish tawook, push the chicken pieces on to some wooden skewers and heat a non-stick skillet till very hot.  

Put the chicken on and cook for several minutes.  Turn the skewers over when they are well-browned.

Cook for a few more minutes until both sides are browned and the chicken is cooked through.   

Tarbush served this with French fries and a divine garlic mayonnaise.  I try not to fry food at home so I made tabouli and hummus (Stand by for Middle East Meal, Parts 2 and 3*) and served these and the chicken with some Lebanese flatbread from the supermarket.  I suggest you do the same.

[Pretend there is a photo of the finished dish here, okay? Somehow I forgot to take one.]

Enjoy!


Looking for part two and part three of the Middle East meal?

Part 2: Tabouli

Part 3: Hummus 

Piri Piri Grilled Whole Baby Grouper

This piri-piri whole baby grouper is marinated first in homemade piri-piri sauce and then grilled to succulent perfection over hot coals.

As I mentioned in my last post, Piri Piri Grilled Chicken,  the sauce is great on fish or pork or prawns or pretty much whatever you want to grill.*  The original grill guy was also grilling fresh sardines but any fish will do!  I won’t repeat the making of the sauce again but here’s how to prepare the fish.

Ingredients

2/3 cup or 160ml piri piri sauce – made from this recipe – 1/3 cup or 80 ml for marinating, 1/3 cup or 80ml for basting while grilling.

2 small Grouper about 1 lb each or one larger fish of 2 1/4 lbs.

Sprinkle of flakey sea salt for serving

Fish holder/grill basket

Method

Get your fish guy to gut, clean and scale the fish but leave it whole.  Once you get it home, make sure it is really clear of scales by giving it a quick scrape all over with a sharp knife - from tail to head.  Rinse it well.  Refrigerate.

About half an hour to an hour before you are going to grill, cut three or four nice scores in each side of the fish.

Pop them in a bag and pour over 1/3 cup or 80ml of piri piri sauce.  Massage the bag a little to make sure the sauce is all over both sides of the fish.  Put the bag on a plate and put it back in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to grill, light your charcoal fire and transfer your fish to the fish holder.  This handy item will make turning the fish a breeze.  We actually own four of these.  Two larger fish-shaped ones and two like the one you see pictured here, which work great for small fish or even burgers.

Our fish were about 1 in or 2.5cm thick so they didn’t need to cook long - about 5-6 minutes each side.  If you have one 2 1/4 lb fish, it will need to cook it a little longer, depending on the thickness.  Grill, turning occasionally and basting whenever you turn, until it is done.  We used another 1/3 cup or 80ml for basting.

You can check for doneness by sticking a knife in at the thickest part and making sure that the fish is white all the way to the bone.  Any grey left and you need to cook it a bit more.  Gently ease the fish out of the fish holder, using a sharp knife. 

Give it a light sprinkling of flakey sea salt.  Serve with some extra lemon or lime for squeezing onto the fish. 

The full meal:  grilled grouper, baby zucchini sauteed with garlic
and arugula/rocket salad with roma tomatoes and blue cheese.

Enjoy!

For those of you who are printing out the instructions, make sure to print this link as well - for the sauce. 

*And for those of you keeping track, there was about a 1/2 cup or 120ml of piri piri sauce left after the fish.  It is currently marinating a small pork roast that will be put on the oven rotisserie tonight.  Can't wait!