Veggie and black bean Quinoa-enchilada bake

Enchiladas make me happy! This is a recipe for enchiladas with a twist. It has all the flavors of a veggie enchilada with the goodness of quinoa. Quinoa is such a versatile ingredient. In this Mexican-inspired casserole, it goes perfectly well with the seasoned veggies, black beans and flavor-packed, home made enchilada sauce. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and is a great option for meal-prepping.

Serves 6, Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups uncooked quinoa

• Assorted vegetables of your choice. I used onions, zucchini, bell pepper, broccoli, mushrooms and spinach

• 15 oz. cooked black beans (1 15 oz. can, if using canned beans. If cooking your own beans, soak 3/4 cup of uncooked black beans in 1.5 cups of water for 4 to 6 hours and then cook in 1.5 cups of water seasoned with 1 tsp salt)

• 1 tbsp olive oil or canola oil

• Salt

• Ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican style cheese blend

Home made enchilada sauce:

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 3 tbsp flour (all purpose or whole wheat)

• 1/2 tbsp chili powder

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tbsp cumin powder

• 1/2 tbsp dried herbs (oregano/parsley/basil)

• 1 tsp salt

• 3 tbsp tomato paste

• 2.5 cups water

• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa in 3 cups of water on medium heat until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. Remove from heat and fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork.

2. Roughly chop all the vegetables and saute in the oil. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add cooked black beans to the vegetables and set aside.

4. Preparing the sauce:

• Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan.

• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the flour and all the dry spices.

• Once oil is heated, add the flour and spice mix to the oil and whisk continuously to roast the spices without burning them.

• Add the tomato paste to the roasted spices and whisk for a few seconds.

• Add the water to the pan and whisk continuously to avoid formation of lumps.

• Once everything is combined and all lumps have dissolved, let the sauce cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• The sauce should be bubbling and slightly thick. Turn off the heat and add the apple cider vinegar.

5. Time to assemble the casserole!

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

• Add 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan.

• Layer the quinoa over the sauce and spread out to cover the pan.

• Layer the vegetables+bean mix over the quinoa.

• Pour the remainder of the sauce over the vegetables, starting at the edges of the pan first and then moving inwards.

• Add shredded cheese over the sauce.

• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

• Pull out of oven and let the casserole rest for 7 to 10 minutes before serving.

Serving suggestion: Serve with sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo.

Assembling the casserole:

NOTE: In these pictures, I used quinoa in half of the casserole and cooked rice in the other half. Any grain can work in this recipe. Other options include pearl barley, buckwheat or millet.

Do try this recipe and leave your comments. The sauce is definitely the star of the show. A bigger batch of the sauce can be prepared and stored in an air-tight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.