It’s Cinco de Mayo – a holiday that’s celebrated more in the U.S. than in Mexico. But, hey, I’m in the U.S., and I love Mexican food. So, to me, it’s a reason to celebrate! So, we invited a couple of friends to come over for an informal Mexican fiesta of food – vegan black bean, sweet potato and corn chilaquiles and a vegan, gluten free tres leches cake. The chilaquiles were a major hit, definitely worth sharing. The cake? Meh. It needs some work. My kiddo & hubby and the guest all claimed it was delicious. And, it looks fairly nice, right?

Tres Leches cake - needs work

But, it needs some tweaking before it’s ready for recipe sharing. Watch for it in a future installment. For now it’s all about the Chilaquiles. They, on the other hand, did not photograph well. Not so gorgeous…see?

Ugly, but Delicious

Just trust me on the yumminess, though, okay? They’re a little fussy to make, requiring a few components. Let’s break it down, shall we? First we need a couple of roasted poblano peppers. To roast them, either pop them under the broiler or hold them (with tongs) over an open flame until the skin all around is blackened and blistered. Toss them in a paper bag to “sweat” then peel all the skin off. You’ll need on for the  tomatillo sauce and one for the filling.

Tomatillo Sauce

1 t. oil
1 yellow onion, diced
6 large tomatillos, cleaned and quartered
4 cloves of garlic
1 roasted poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 T. salt
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onions and tomatillos. Cook for 5 minutes, until onions and tomatillos soften. add broth, salt and poblano peppers. Boil until the tomatillos begin to break down. Remove from heat and blend ingredients with an immersion blender (or use a regular blender and return blended sauce to pot). Add lime juice and simmer over a low flame until sauce is reduced by 1/3 – approximately 45 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Corn Filling

1 T. oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 t. whole cumin, ground
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can-full (use the empty black bean can) frozen corn
1 roasted poblano pepper, diced
1 t. salt (or to taste)

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, sweet potato, and cumin. Saute until sweet potatoes begin to brown and onions are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for approximately 5 more minutes.

Tortillas

Now normally, you’d fry some stale tortillas for chilaquiles. But, since we’re trying to be healthy around here, I took 12 stale tortillas and broiled them until crispy. Your choice. Fry or broil.

Assembly

Whew – got all that done? It’s time to assemble and bake. This is the easy part. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a 9 x 13 pan, lay down 6 tortillas (they’ll overlap some). If they’re not flat, just press down on them. It’s okay if they break. Add 1/2 the filling, and 1/3 the sauce. Make another layer with the rest of the tortillas, the rest of the filling and the rest of the sauce. If you’re not a vegan, or enjoy vegan cheese, feel free to throw a cheese layer in there. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

I served this with Cilantro Lime Cashew Cream.