Ancho Enchilada

I love making a baked dish/casserole...they are so easy! After blending up this homemade enchilada sauce it is basically a set-it-and-forget-it recipe. It is easy to find a great selection of dried peppers in almost every grocery store down here in Texas (the Anchos are a necessary component to this tasty dish...so check an international foods market if you don't live in the land of Tex-Mex!). Also corn tortillas are a must....pshhhh with those flour tortillas, they just won't work here!

Sauce
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
3 large dried ancho chiles (and reserved cooking water)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 head shallot, diced
1/2 tsp cumin
salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper

Filling
1 16oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
crimini mushrooms
handfull cilantro, chopped
fresh corn tortillas (16 small)

0. Preheat oven to 350 F.
1. In a small saucepan add several cups of water and chiles. Bring to boil, turn down heat slightly and boil for 10 minutes or until chiles are soft. Flip them with tongs several times since they float.
2. When they are finished (nice and soft) cut off the stems (and if you want less spice, remove some or all of the seeds).
3. Add tomatoes, garlic, shallot, chiles and about 1/4 C cooking water to a blender. Blend until smooth (always be careful with hot liquid and cover lid with a kitchen towel!). Taste and add salt and pepper. For a thinner sauce add another 1/4 C cooking water and blend again until smooth.
4. In a 8x8 pan add a layer of corn tortillas. Add beans, mushrooms and a sprinkle of cilantro. Spoon on enchilada sauce. Add another layer of tortilla and repeat. For the top layer I added a double thick corn tortilla top. Pour on enchilada sauce and use a spoon to spread it evenly.
5. Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Serve with fresh cilantro, pickled red onions and avocado. And hot sauce. Cause yeah.

Spicy and salty topped with creamy avocado
 and sour red onions! What more could you want??