Vegetarian enchiladas for one
As you may recall from certain events that went down in April, I’m not single. But, the nature of my husband’s work means that he’s often out in the evenings (he’s a musician, a.k.a. rockstar). On those nights, I guess I’m an honorary singleton. I have no desire to be single, but I would quite like to be friends with Bridget Jones.
So, here’s a recipe for the other singletons among you – honorary or otherwise. Vegetarian enchiladas for one!
In the past, I would never have even considered making enchiladas just for one person – for two reasons:
Firstly, when I make enchiladas, I usually seem to produce mammoth amounts of food. I always aim for just two portions, but somehow the desire to fill a whole, enormous baking dish results in me producing enough enchiladas to feed an army. And when it’s just me at home, cooking that many enchiladas would be one temptation too far – so I just don’t do it.
Secondly, what a faff. Somehow spending hours on dinner seems completely reasonable when you’re cooking for more than one person, but when I’m on my own, my number 1 priority is to make something super quick that leaves barely any washing up (this is probably because when I’m on my own I’m usually watching some form of chick flick that needs continuous attention for fear of missing the profound plot points). Chopping veg, cooking veg, rolling enchiladas, making sauce… yeah, not going to happen.
Buuut, before I put you off – these enchiladas are different! They’re enchiladas for one – just one perfect portion, no pre-cooking required, a super quick and easy dinner. In fact, the only real bit of prep required is to grate a tiny bit of cheese – the rest is 100% pure assembly.
I put a few big chunks of pickled jalapeño through mine because I was using a mild salsa, but if you’re using a hot salsa you might decide to leave out the jalapeños! I actually didn’t even chop them up, just put a few slices through each enchilada (didn’t want to dirty a chopping board… really…), and in the end it worked just fine – by the time your mouth’s tingling a little, you won’t be able to tell anyway!
Vegetarian enchiladas for one
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp salsa hot or mild
- 4 tbsp refried beans
- 2 mini flour tortillas
- slices ~6 pickled jalapeños
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander roughly torn up
- 25 g cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
- Add a tablespoon or two of salsa to the bottom of an individual baking dish (mine measured around 8 x 4.5"), and spread it around with the back of the spoon.
- Spoon half of the refried beans along the centre of one of the mini tortillas, and add a few slices of jalapeño and some torn coriander. Roll the tortilla up tightly, and place it in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining fillings and final tortilla.
- Top with the remaining salsa (try to cover any exposed corners of tortilla if possible to prevent burning), and then the grated cheese. Bake for around 25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and slightly crispy.
Prefer a crowd-sized version? How about black bean enchiladas with avocado sauce:
Corn tortillas are authentic and taste better too. Don’t forget onions with your cheese! Also black beans are fabulous too. Bush’s has some new bean products, one is a mixed bean can, & I’m planning to check them out for my taco salads. Need to find out if they’re vegan!
I’m actually not a fan of corn tortillas, but I do love the idea of adding onions with the cheese :)
You are so right about ending up w/ enough food to feed an army, it happens to me as well. Great recipe I will be trying it in the next couple of days, I’ll let you know how it comes out.
FYI: some people may not know what Coriander is so you may want to put in (Cilantro), just a thought. Lise
It’s a real art to cooking for one person. I don’t do it often but you’re right the less labor intensive it is the better.
I’m like you, what starts out as a meal for two or three can quickly escalate into a meal that could be shared with the street. I am really bad at keeping meal salads under control. They just grow and grow, mainly because i am greedy and want a bit of everything. And, like you, I don’t often bother much if it is just me. I am very likely to have the cliched avocado on toast with a poached egg, or even a bowl of granola. How nice to be reminded that good things can be made with just a few store cupboard bits and bobs. Jalapeños are essential. Even with hot salsa. I put jalapeños (or those Fragrata pickled chillies) on most just-for-me-salads too!
I love this idea, a perfect dish for one although my husband might be jealous if he knows he is missing it as we both adore Mexican food!
Haha well you could scale it up easily enough! :)
Delicious! I am one of those beans on toast for one kinda dinner gals so it would be nice to make myself something like this. x
I love the idea of singleton cooking. My husband travels 5 days a week, leaving me to eat alone all week. I do adjust the recipes though it is nice to hear someone else shares the same lifestyle. Yours may come home but I have a 100lb Chesapeake to keep me warm at night and protected.
It may be vegetarian but it sounds delicious!! I will definitely make this.
What a lovely dish! If you need to eat alone, than the good part of it is you can make something tasty like this enchiladas and enjoy some time alone :)
Nice looking dish. Will make this for Ruth and Lisa at Christmas. If I cannot find pickled jalapenos in the store what can I use as a substitute? Can you help please. Thanks Becca.
Whereabouts are you based? If you’re in the UK you’ll definitely be able to find them in any supermarket – I used this kind http://goo.gl/J5eukW
If you can’t find them, you could maybe try mixing some chilli powder into the beans instead? Or just buy spicy beans! :)
this looks ideal to make individual enchiladas. Just one problem at the start of the method you state;-
2. Add a tablespoon or two to the bottom of an individual baking dish (mine measured around 8 x 4.5″), and spread it around with the back of the spoon.
TBLs of what please Becca or am I being dim.
I have made several of your receipes so far and have loved them all.
Hi, I meant a tablespoon or two of the salsa – not sure why I left that off! :P I’ll update it now to be clearer. Thanks!
Becca,
I have been following your blog for a few months now and your recipes are always inspiring me to try new foods and combinations! But since I live by myself, some recipes are harder than others to make (unless I’m looking to eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 4 days straight…and let’s face it, that’s 2-3 days too many!). This one is absolutely perfect! I conveniently have all of these things in my fridge that are almost on their way out and are begging to be used. Can’t wait to try out my mini oven dish with this tonight!
Haha thanks Maria! It’s fate! Do it! :) There’s only 2 of us in my house so most of my recipes only make 2 – 4 portions, but I totally get that eating the same meal 4 days in a row is a bit much! :P you could always try freezing some (depending on the recipe)?