Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce

     Last night Arnauld and I went out for Indian food.  We each got a curried dish that was creamy and delicious.  So when thinking about dinner tonight we decided to keep up with the theme of international cuisine.  Each day that I arrived home from work this week, I happily found another magazine in the mailbox.  Each held the promise of dinner ideas, fun desserts to share with friends and family, and inspiration for autumn.  Unfortunately the weather for the past few days has felt anything but fall like.  The rain has left things feeling more like a sauna.  So as the magazines I leafed through suggested recipes for every kind of chili you can imagine and endless ideas for what to do with the seasonal squash that is popping up at the grocery store, I couldn't really get into that when it feels more like summer.  Instead, I opted for enchiladas-neither associated with fall or summer-season neutral I suppose.

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce
Recipe from Cooking Light, October 2011

Ingredients
2 dried ancho chilis, stemmed and seeded
2 cups water
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable broth (I completely forgot this!)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/8 tsp red pepper
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
3 green onions, sliced
Cooking Spray
6 six inch corn tortillas
sour cream


Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. Combine the chiles and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan.  Bring this mixture to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes and then drain chiles but reserve 1 cup of the cookine liquid.
2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over high heat.  Add the onion and cook for 1 minute.  Add the garlic and salt and cook for 5 minutes, lowering the temperature to medium.  Next add the broth, cumin, and tomato paste.  Cook for 8 more minutes, or until the mixture thickens. 
3. Pour the onion mixture into the blender along with the chiles and the reserved cooking liquid.  Blend until the mixture is smooth.  Stir in the red pepper and lime juice.
4. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.  Spread 1/2 cup of the blended sauce to cover the bottom of the baking dish.
5. Heat the corn tortillas according to the package directions.  I used the microwave.
6. Combine the black beans, 1 cup of the Mexican cheese, and 1/2 of the green onions in a medium bowl.
7. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the bean mixture into each tortilla and place in the baking dish, seam side down. 
8. Top the tortillas with the remaining cheese and green onions.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until the enchiladas are lightly browned.

You can serve this meal with sour cream if desired.

The Taste Test
     I completely forgot to add the broth to the onion mixture.  I didn't even realize it until I went to type up this recipe.  My ranchero sauce was pretty thick, I suppose if I had used the broth it would have been a lot thinner.  Overall I don't think it impacted this dish that much.  Arnauld's reaction to his first bite was "exquisite."  He was really impressed with all of the flavor that the ranchero sauce offered.  There was a nice kick to the dish that was complimented nicely by the cheese and the texture of the beans.