Open-faced enchilada supper - recipe

Sunset, Feb, 1995 by Betsy Bateson

A complete meal in less than an hour for family or favored guests

A few easy cooking techniques and prepared foods from the supermarket create a super Mexican weeknight or party meal. The fabulous flavor combination - mole, red bananas, black beans, cilantro, and spices - comes from the Yucatan in southern Mexico.

Canned black beans and mole sauce from a jar, red bananas that bake in their jackets alongside open-faced enchiladas, and a simple citrus salad let you put the meal together in less than an hour - even faster with a little prep a day ahead. Serve with Mexican beer and tortilla chips.

Easy Yucatan Enchilada Supper

For dinner in less than 30 minutes, prepare the beans and salad ahead.

Black beans (recipe follows)

Citrus salad (recipe follows)

1 jar (8 1/4 oz.) mole paste

1 1/2 cups regular-strength chicken broth

2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen spinach, thawed

6 medium-size (about 4 oz. each) red bananas or regular bananas

6 corn tortillas, about 6 inches in diameter

1 cup (5 oz.) crumbled cotija or feta cheese

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded jack cheese

6 large lettuce leaves or ti leaves (from a florist), rinsed and drained

Cilantro sprigs, lime wedges, and salsa

Prepare black beans and citrus salad. In a 2- to 3-quart pan, mix together mole paste and broth. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mole mixture is smooth and hot; remove from heat. Place spinach in a colander; press all liquid from spinach.

In a 350 [degrees] oven, bake bananas until very soft to touch, 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place 3 tortillas on each of 2 baking sheets (about 12 by 15 inches each). Spoon about 3 tablespoons mole over each tortilla, leaving bare the outer 1/4-inch rim. Sprinkle 1/3 cup spinach over mole on each tortilla; top equally with cotija and jack cheeses.

Bake enchiladas in oven with bananas until hot and cheese is melted, about 10 minutes, (If oven is small, remove baked bananas before baking enchiladas; cover with foil to keep warm.)

If using ti leaves, arrange on 6 dinner plates. Place an enchilada, banana, portion of citrus salad, and portion of beans on each leaf. (Or serve beans on the side.) If using lettuce leaves, place enchilada, banana, and beans directly on each plate. Tuck a lettuce leaf next to beans; place salad on leaf. Garnish each plate with cilantro, lime wedges, and salsa; offer remaining mole sauce to add as desired. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 500 cal. (29 percent from fat): 24 g protein; 16 g fat (4 g sat.): 71 g carbo.; 875 mg sodium; 39 mg chol.

Black beans. To a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat add 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 medium-size (8 oz.) onion, chopped, and 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown and sticks to pan bottom. Add 1/4 cup regular-strength chicken broth and scrape brown bits from pan bottom; cook until liquid evaporates. Repeat process, using 1/4 cup more broth.

Add 2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, drained and rinsed, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice. Heat until beans are hot (for softer beans, mash about half the beans and stir). If making ahead, cool, cover, and chill up to overnight. To reheat, add 1/4 cup broth and heat beans over medium heat, about 10 minutes. Makes 2 cups.

Citrus salad. Cut peel and white membrane from 2 large (2 lb. total) grapefruit and 4 medium-size (2 lb. total) oranges. Then cut segments free from inner membranes and place in a bowl. Gently stir in 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (coriander), 1 tablespoon lime juice, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Cover and chill until ready to use, up to overnight. Makes 4 cups.