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Enfrijoladas with quesillo and crema
Enfrijoladas are corn tortillas dipped in a smooth black bean sauce, folded around cheese and baked, a home dish cooked all over Oaxaca. The sauce is scented with avocado leaf and a smoky chilli, and the plate is finished with crema, red onion and coriander.
- 45 minutes
- Prep 15 minutes
- Cook 30 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 2 tins black beans (400g each), with their liquid
- 1 dried chipotle chilli (a smoked dried jalapeño)
- Half an onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 dried avocado leaves (hoja de aguacate, with a gentle aniseed scent), optional
- Half a teaspoon fine salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 12 corn tortillas, labelled gluten free, or our handmade tortillas
- 150g quesillo (Oaxaca string cheese) or mozzarella, pulled into strands
- 100ml soured cream or Mexican crema
- Half a red onion, very thinly sliced
- A small bunch of fresh coriander (about 20g)
Let's cook
- Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Snip the stalk off the chilli, shake out the seeds and toast it in a dry frying pan for 20 seconds a side. Toast the avocado leaves for 10 seconds until they smell of aniseed.
- Put the beans and their liquid, the chilli, onion, garlic, salt and 200ml water in a blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wide pan on a medium heat. Pour in the bean purée, standing back as it spits, crumble in the avocado leaves and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until it coats the back of a spoon like thick custard. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick to dip into. Keep it warm on a low heat.
- Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and warm each tortilla for 10 seconds a side so it softens and does not crack. Stack them on a plate.
- One at a time, dip each tortilla into the bean sauce so it is coated on both sides, lay it on a board, put a few strands of quesillo on one half and fold it over, then fold again into a quarter. Arrange them overlapping in a baking dish.
- Spoon the rest of the bean sauce over the top and scatter with the last of the cheese. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until bubbling at the edges and the cheese has melted.
- Drizzle with the soured cream, then scatter with the red onion and coriander. Serve hot.
Tips
- Corn tortillas are sold in larger supermarkets and by online Mexican food shops in the UK; many packs are part wheat, so read the label if you need them gluten free.
- Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheat in the oven at 180C (160C fan) for 15 minutes until piping hot all the way through.
Swaps
- Vegan: leave out the cheese and cream, fill the tortillas with fried sliced mushrooms and top with sliced avocado.
- No avocado leaves: add a bay leaf and a pinch of ground fennel seeds to the bean sauce.
Tags
Contains: Milk .
Milk (quesillo or mozzarella, and soured cream or crema). Corn tortillas sold in the UK often contain wheat flour, so buy ones labelled gluten free. If you keep strictly vegetarian, choose a cheese made with vegetarian rennet.
Check every packet for allergens.