Mango, Black Bean, and Goat Cheese Enchiladas

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Mexican food and the Spanish language are two loves of mine. I'll never forget the moment that speaking Spanish finally felt natural for me. After seven years of studying the language, at the ripe age of 20, I found myself sitting on a folding chair in front of the Seville Cathedral in Sevilla, Spain, waiting for a performance about the life of Christopher Columbus to begin. Behind me sat a man from Puerto Rico who muttered a simple, "¡Hola!". We proceeded to speak for about 40 minutes and not once did I need to pause to think of a word or resort to 'Spanglish'. It was one of the greatest feelings and one I hope to repeat in a couple more languages (Arabic and French, please). Thanks to the deep Mexican heritage in Southern California, I am still able to be surrounded by Spanish speakers on a daily basis. I'm very grateful for that.

About the food, this California-ized Mexican dish is just delightful. The combination of sweet, juicy mangoes with rich, creamy goat cheese makes my mouth water.  

 I'm not gonna lie, this recipe took a little more effort than I anticipated, but that was because I actually made the sauce from scratch, instead of just buying green enchilada sauce. While the homemade sauce was delicious, I've revised this recipe to include an either/or option. 

*adapted from quickbeanrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 oz. can black beans

1 cup diced mango

4 stalks scallions, thinly sliced

1 8 oz. can corn

4-6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

8-10 small corn tortillas or 4-5 larger flour tortillas - I used whole wheat flour tortillas

mozzarella cheese (optional)

salt to taste

cilantro for garnish

(for the sauce):

8-10 tomatillos, husked, seeded and minced

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion, minced

OR

1 can green enchilada sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

For the sauce (if making), cook tomatillos in chicken broth with garlic and onions over medium heat for about ten minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer tomatillo mixture to a food processor or blender and blitz to get a smooth, creamy texture. Add salt as desired.

For enchilada filling, cook black beans, mango, scallions, and corn until heated through. Take out from heat and stir in goat cheese.

Over medium heat and using cooking spray, warm tortillas on both sides until lightly browned.

Spread half of the green sauce evenly at the bottom of a cooking dish. One by one, fill each tortilla with filling and roll into an enchilada shape, then place in cooking dish seam side down. Pour remaining green sauce over the enchiladas. Top with any remaining mango/goat cheese filling. If desired, top with mozzarella cheese as well. 

Cook in the oven for 10 minutes until tortillas are nicely charred and cheese is melted. Top with cilantro for garnish. 

Serve with rice and beans, put on your sombrero, and sing "Ayayayay!"