Roasted Zucchini & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

If I were to ever open up my own restaurant, this would be the first dish I would make. It is delightfully easy to create, yet the flavors work so well together that you could fool anyone into thinking you slaved for hours upon end to make this delectable masterpiece. If you have ever been to Aqua Verde and ordered the sweet potato tacos, then you have a slight idea of how good these enchiladas are. Who would have thought sweet potatoes and black beans could work so well together?!

 The best part about this recipe is the combination of all the flavors. The sweet potatoes and caramelized onions bring a subtle sweetness, the goat cheese adds a creamy, savory component, and the enchilada sauce finishes each bite with a bit of a kick. Oh yes, this may just be your new favorite fall entree.

~Roasted Zucchini & Sweet Potato Enchiladas~

with goat cheese and black beans

(adapted from Sprouted Kitchen)

Ingredients: 

~ 1 large sweet potato, pealed and cubed

~ 1 large Zucchini, cubed

~ 1 medium yellow onion, cut into thin, long strips 

~ 5 Oz goat cheese 

~ 15 Oz black beans, drained (1 can)

~ 8-14 small tortillas (depends on how many people you are cooking for)

~ 15 Oz enchilada sauce (1 can)

Spread the zucchini and sweet potato over a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees F until the veggies are soft... approximately 15 minutes. While the veggies bake, chop the onion and begin to caramelize over medium heat. The onion will take a bit of time to caramelize (up to 20 minutes). If you are in a time crunch, you can speed up this process by adding a small amount of sugar to the pan.

Once the sweet potato and zucchini have sufficiently baked, mix the veggies with the goat cheese, black beans and half of the caramelized onions. Make sure to leave a bit of the goat cheese and onions out to use for the topping of the enchiladas. The hot zucchini and sweet potatoes will help melt the goat cheese and make the filling nice and creamy. After the filling has been prepared, begin to fill each tortilla with a spoonful of the mixture, roll into an enchilada and place in a 9x9 or 8x11 in. baking pan.

Finally, pour all of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas, and sprinkle with the remaining goat cheese and caramelized onions. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, or until the edges of the enchiladas become crispy. Serve with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Food for thought:

• Try incorporating seasonal veggies into your cooking! Produce in season not only tastes better, it also better for you, your community and the planet. 
• The health benefits of sweet potatoes: 
• Sweet potatoes contain many important vitamins and minerals including vitamins a, c & b, potassium, manganese, iron and fiber. 
• Sweet potatoes help monitor blood glucose levels, and are especially helpful for diabetics.
• Sweet potatoes also contain many antioxidants and help improve the health of your skin and heart. 

“This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy. To eat with reckless abandon, without conscience, without knowledge; folks, this ain't normal.”
― Joel Salatin