Enchilada Lasagna

After having made the enchilada sauce for their Mexican Gnocchi recipe, this time I tried out One Green Planet’s entire recipe for Enchilada Lasagna.

Another vegetarian comfort food crossover of Mexican and Italian cuisines. Using corn tortillas as lasagna sheets and with intermittent layers of enchilada sauce, cheese, and the super tasty filling of black beans, spinach, and roasted sweet potatoes, this is one incredibly delicious dish.

I forgot to halve the quantity of chili powder in the enchilada sauce and misread red pepper for chili pepper (the literal Dutch translation) instead of bell pepper, so the dish turned out to have a huge kick and was therefore deemed not suitable for the kids. 🔥🔥

The Enchilada Sauce

This part of the recipe will take about 15-20 minutes and yields about 4 cups / 1 liter of great enchilada sauce, which you will use in its entirety for this recipe.

3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cumin powder
½ tbsp chili powder (double this quantity for the extra kick!)
½ tsp ground coriander powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
35g / ¼ cup flour
55g / ¼ cup tomato paste
4 cups / 1 liter of vegetable stock

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium-high, and once the oil is hot, add all spices and fry for about 1 minute.
Stir in the tomato paste, and when combined, add the flour so it will form a ball and let it cook for about 1 or 2 more minutes.
Slowly add the stock, stirring as you go, until the sauce has an entirely smooth consistency.
Bring sauce to a boil until it thickens and then set it aside.

The Enchilada Lasagna

This part of the recipe will take about an hour (including 25-30 minutes oven time), and you can serve 8 persons comfortably.

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin
300g / 12oz spinach leaves, chopped if large
1 can (400g / 15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lime, juiced
2 spring onions, finely sliced
A handful coriander leaves, finely chopped
400g / 3 cups cheese, shredded
12-15 corn tortillas, cut in half

Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F.
In a bowl, toss the sweet potatoes dices in 2 tbsp of olive oil, salt, and pepper and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast them for 25-30 minutes.
In the meantime, sauté the onion and bell pepper in a large frying pan with the remaining tbsp of olive oil over medium heat until soft.
Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin and cook for about 2 more minutes.
Add the spinach and cook until just wilted and remove the pan from the heat and place the mixture in a bowl and mix in the black beans, green onion, lime juice, and coriander leaves. When sweet potatoes are done, add them to the bowl as well and mix to combine.
Assemble the lasagna in a 23x33cm / 9×13″ oven dish by first adding about 250ml / 1 cup of enchilada sauce to the dish and move it around to cover the entire bottom. Then place the flat side of the tortillas in the pan, so they are flush with the sides of the pan and then cover the bottom with tortillas as well. (I used 10 pieces of tortillas: 2 on each of the long sides and 1 on each short side to essentially create a rectangle on the bottom of the oven dish and then cover that rectangle with 4 overlapping pieces).
Add ½ of the sweet potato mixture, 1/3 of the cheese, and 250ml / 1 cup of enchilada sauce.
Start another layer of the tortillas and use the rest of the sweet potato mixture, 1/3 of the cheese, and another 250ml / 1 cup of enchilada sauce. (Here I used 8 tortilla pieces: 6 placed with the flat sides against the edges of the dish and then use a final 2 to cover the middle part).
Finish with another layer of tortillas and the rest of the enchilada sauce (tilting the dish to fill all nooks and crannies), and top with the remaining cheese.
Bake the lasagna in the oven for 20 minutes, then grill for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.