Have you ever encountered an ingredient that you’ve heard of, eaten in restaurants and knew you liked, but because you’ve never cooked with it you assumed it must be hard and avoided it?
Wait, don’t answer that. Yes you have. I know you have because I have and I want to assume that you are all standing with me in solidarity in what was once a fear – maybe even a phobia – of cooking with chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce.
I’ve been on a major spicy kick lately, first with pumpkin and black bean enchiladas and later with white bean and apple chili that I am almost certain I over-seasoned with medium hot chili powder that was in no way medium. That was not a bad thing.
This recipe was almost serendipitous.
I had butternut squash.
I had chipotle flavored tortillas,
I had black beans and I had Monterey jack cheese.
On a whim, I plucked a can of chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce from the shelf in the ethnic foods section at Whole Foods because I had never cooked with them before and it couldn’t be that hard, right?
Before you knew it, I had dinner for the next week.
We’re three days in and I’m not even sick of it yet.
- 1½ pounds butternut squash, cubed
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 8 corn tortillas, chipotle-flavored (such as La Tortilla Factory), sliced in half
- 1 7-ounce can chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce, chopped, sauce reserved
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, in liquid
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
- 1 cup Monterey jack cheese
- Sour cream (optional)
- Fresh cilantro (optional)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss cubed butternut squash with oil on a large, rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, or until squash is tender when pricked with a fork. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F.
- In a 13x9x2 glass baking dish, spoon about 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce to cover the bottom of the pan. Top with a layer of tortillas and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine black beans, tomatoes, chopped chipotle peppers, diced green chiles and remaining adobo sauce. Layer about ½ of the mixture into the glass baking dish, on top of the tortillas. Cover with about ½ of the cheese mixture and repeat, finishing with a layer of cheese on top.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese has thoroughly melted and is beginning to bubble around the edges. Let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving and top with sour cream and fresh cilantro, if desired.
11 Comments
Molly
February 1, 2012 at 9:33 amI want to make this tonight but have a question. After you roast the squash, then what? The recipe doesn’t mention when to add the squash to the layers! Do you leave it in the bottom of the pan then add sauce? Do you mix it in with the black bean mixture? Or just layer in between? Please advise. Thx!
Pretty. Good. Food.
November 22, 2010 at 11:16 pmMmm, so nice and easy, I love it! Great recipe 🙂 Sounds so good!
Aggie
November 18, 2010 at 4:38 pmOk, now this looks amazing! I’m all over this!!
Cara
November 15, 2010 at 1:21 pmSounds wonderful! I have a black bean tortilla casserole that I love, and I keep thinking about making it with winter squash instead of the other veggies I typically use. I think you’ve done it for me 🙂
kat
November 9, 2010 at 10:33 amNow that looks so good!
daryl
November 9, 2010 at 3:45 amWow What a combination! Looks scrumptious and like something I would love.
Sues
November 9, 2010 at 12:12 amWow, I love everything about this! From the butternut squash to the enchiladas to the chipotle in adobo. The perfect cool weather dish 🙂
Joanne
November 8, 2010 at 7:45 pmChipotle chiles in adobo are my absolute favorite way to add smoky spice to anything south of the border. This bake sounds fantastic!
Tracey from Central Coast Seachange
November 8, 2010 at 7:32 pmHow delicious does this look.
Cookin' Canuck
November 8, 2010 at 6:11 pmChipotle chiles are one of my favorite ingredients. The smoky heat adds such a unique flavor. I love the idea of this bake, layered with tortillas.
Steve
November 8, 2010 at 5:49 pmI just can’t believe how every recipe you post is better that the previous one. We have to try this…..soon.