enfrijoladas
Brunch is a big thing around our house. We rarely go out, because we enjoy making and eating brunchy dishes at home, in our bathrobes. We love both fancier and heartier brunch fare.
Given this, the current egg shortage has been hard to bear. So I've been looking for brunch dishes that require very few eggs, or none at all. One of them is something we had in Oaxaca, enfrijoladas:
See, as an American I was very familiar with enchiladas (who isn't?), but never realized before visiting Oaxaca that enchiladas is just one of a suite of "en-*-adas" dishes, all of which consist of dipping tortillas in some kind of leftover sauce and folding them.
- enchiladas: corn tortillas dipped in leftover chile sauce
- entomadas: corn tortillas dipped in leftover tomato sauce
- enmoladas: corn tortillas dipped in leftover mole
- enfrijoladas: corn tortillas dipped in leftover pureed beans
Notice the "leftover" part of the description; these are all breakfast dishes, because you make them with tortillas (which you always have if you're Mexican) and some leftover sauce, maybe from dinner last night.
Importantly, enfrijoladas consist of tortillas, bean sauce, cheese, and sometimes garnishes. No eggs required (although topping them with a fried egg is delicious).
Now, for my readers who are more familiar with Tex-Mex enchilada casserole, these enfrijoladas are going to seem kind of minimal. But that's really how en-whatever-adas are for most Mexicans, both in Oaxaca and Mexico City. It's a quick breakfast dish, consisting of just tortillas, a sauce, and some cheese. The "stuffed enchiladas" which are standard in so many Mexican-American restaurants descend more from enchiladas suizas, a fairly elaborate restaurant dish from Mexico City.
They are, however, very filling. And easy to make once you get the knack of things.
The recipe below says "Oaxaca-style black beans", which means some black beans, slow cooked with epazote, garlic, onion, chile, and avocado leaf. If you don't happen to have any on hand, but you do have some canned or vac-packed refried black beans, or canned whole black beans, then just season them as follows:
- 2 cups refried or pureed cooked black beans
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 to 1 tsp powdered Mexican chiles (ancho, guajillo, or pasilla)
- 1 tsp dried epazote (if available)
- salt to taste
You'll be making a sauce from the pureed beans. The only part of this recipe that takes some learning is getting the bean consistency right. You need to coat each tortilla in the beans, which means that they need to be neither too thick (in which case the beans won't stick) or too liquid (in which case the beans will drip off). Once they're hot in the pan, start with them fairly thick, and then add warm water to thin them until you have a consistency that works for you as you dip each tortilla.
Because of the beans, enfrijoladas are a lot more filling than you'd expect. The recipe below makes a very hearty breakfast for two people (4-5 tortillas apiece) or a light breakfast for four people (2-3 tortillas apiece).
Enfrijoladas Oaxaqueñas
- Around 2 1/2 cups Oaxacan-style cooked black beans
- 10-12 good quality corn tortillas
- Warm water, as needed
- Salt, to taste
- 4-5oz crumbled queso fresco, or finely shredded queso Oaxaca
- 1 medium or large avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced (optional)
Equipment: comal, griddle, or large steel pan; 9-10" frying pan, preferrably nonstick; small tongs; towel or torilla warmer
If starting from whole beans, puree them as finely as you can. If they're too thick to puree easily, add a little water. If you're looking to make this as fancy brunch, then push the puree through a seive to remove skins, but I never do this.
Put both the comal/griddle and the medium frying pan on the stove over medium heat. Put the beans in the frying pan, and heat, watching them for when they start to bubble. Turn your oven onto low, around 200F.
While the beans heat, toast the tortillas. Get the comal/griddle very hot (350-400F), and toast the tortillas on each side for a minute or two. They should bubble slightly. Wrap the toasted tortillas in a towel or place them in a tortilla warmer.
The beans should be getting hot by now, or concurrently. Stir them, and then add warm water, a little at a time, as needed; you're looking for them to be thick but still liquid, about the consistency of a hearty tomato sauce or a smoothie. Taste to see if they need more salt. Turn down the heat, and stir periodically to avoid scortching or boiling.
Now it's time to make the enfrijoladas. Get a stack of plates ready, near the stove. You will need to work quickly with each tortilla, so make sure that everything you need is within reach.
Take each tortilla, one at a time, and press it into the bean sauce. Flip it over with the tongs, and get the other side coated with the beans as well. Fold the tortilla in half, and put it on a plate. Repeat, and put the next folded tortilla overlapping the first. Keep going, adding between 2 and 5 tortillas to each plate depending on people's appetites.
When a plate is full, sprinkle it with the cheese, and place it into the warm oven. Get started on the next plate.
As you go, you may need to add a little more warm water to the beans to keep them at the right consistency. If there's beans left after dipping all the tortillas, you can add more water to get them really liquid and then pour the bean sauce around the enfrijoladas on each plate.
Once all the enfrijoladas are made, make sure the last plate gets a few minutes in the oven (for the cheese to soften), then take them out and decorate with the avocado slices, if using.
Serve, together with Oaxacan coffee (if you can get it) and juice. Salud!
Q&A
Can this be made vegan?
Easily, just skip the cheese. You could also use vegan cheese.
Can I use flour tortillas?
No.
Could I use other kinds of beans?
Sure, why not? Black beans just have a bit more flavor.
Shouldn't I dip the tortilla in hot oil?
That's a lot more mess, and also not the way it's done in Oaxaca.