Celebrate Cinco De Mayo with Savory Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Events leading to Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo has its roots in the French occupation of Mexico, which took place in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, the Mexican Civil War of 1858, and the 1860 Reform Wars. These wars left the Mexican Treasury in ruins and nearly bankrupt. On July 17, 1861, Mexican President Benito Juárez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for two years. In response, France, Britain, and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, at the time ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to establish a Latin empire in Mexico that would favor French interests, the Second Mexican Empire.

The French invasion

Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat. Moving on from Veracruz towards Mexico City, the French army encountered heavy resistance from the Mexicans near Puebla, at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. The 8,000-strong French army attacked the much more poorly equipped Mexican army of 4,000. Yet, on May 5, 1862, the Mexicans managed to decisively crush the French army, one which, according to an article in Philadelphia’s The Bulletin daily newspaper, was the best army of the time.

The Mexican Cinco de Mayo victory

The victory represented a significant morale boost to the Mexican army and the Mexican people at large. In the description of The History Channel, “Although not a major strategic win in the overall war against the French, Zaragoza’s success at Puebla represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement.” The description of Time magazine was: “The Puebla victory came to symbolize unity and pride for what seemed like a Mexican David defeating a French Goliath.” It helped establish a much-needed sense of national unity and patriotism.

Events after the Cinco de Mayo Battle

The Mexican victory, however, was short-lived. Thirty thousand troops and a full year later, the French were able to depose the Mexican army, capture Mexico City, and establish Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico. However, the French victory was also short-lived, lasting only 3 years, from 1864 to 1867. With the U.S. Civil War over in 1865, the U.S. was able to provide more assistance to Mexico to expel the French, after which Maximilian I was executed by the Mexicans, along with his Mexican generals Miramón and Mejía, in the Cerro de las Campanas, Queretaro.

Do you love Mexican food as much as I do? Since you are reading the Long Beach Post, chances are you are a Southern Californian (or at least were at some point) so you probably do. And we are all in luck beacuse this Saturday is Cinco De Mayo!

A few years back I convinced my family that the days of stuffing and cranberries for Thanksgiving were a thing of the past and we could make what ever we wanted- as long as we were thankful! Genius, I know. Cue, Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Thanksgiving- hooray! From this idea a lot of great dishes were born, but none as good as Savory Sweet Potato Enchiladas.

I knew they would be good, but I had no idea I would want to make them year round. Now that Cinco de Mayo is upon us, I thought what better way to celebrate – and since no Mexican meal is complete without beans, I’ll give you my secret to making canned pintos taste like a slice of heaven! Lets get cooking!

 To get the party started you will need: 

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 medium brown onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. cooked/mashed sweet potatoes (about 3 sweet potatoes) 
• 1 tsp. cumin (more to taste)
• 1 tsp. oregano (more to taste)
• 1 tsp. ground coriander (more to taste)
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt (more to taste)
• couple dashes of chili powder
• 2/3 cup drained/rinsed black beans
• 5 oz. of diced green chilies (most of a 7 oz. can) 
• 10-12 corn tortillas, lightly fried in vegetable oil 
• 2 cups grated jack cheese
• 1 large can (28 oz.) Las Palmas green enchilada sauce (comes in mild and medium!)
• 1 9×13 or 2 8×8 pans
• BEER! 

Lightly fry tortillas in the vegetable oil (about 10 seconds on each side) and set aside- it won’t matter if they cool. Poke the heck out of sweet potatoes with a fork and throw them in microwave for 8 minutes, then while they cook; dice the onion and mince the garlic. Multi-tasking is fun for everyone! 

Check the potatoes, and depending how soft they are put them back in the microwave for 8-10 more minutes. They need to be soft enough to scoop out easily. Melt butter in large sauté pan, add diced onion and cook till translucent (5-7 minutes). Add the minced garlic and cook another minute or so. It is not important to be precise with timing- as long as it doesn’t burn it will taste delicious! 

Add spices and stir in with onions, cook 2 more minutes. Remove sweet potatoes from microwave and scoop into pan, incorporate in to the onion and cook 2 more minutes. The sweet potatoes should be very soft and should “mash” with little effort. 

Gently fold in black beans and green chilies and turn off heat- at this point taste the filling and added spices to your taste! I like a strong flavor, so I usually add more, but know your audience- especially when it comes to the chili powder! 

Position yourself to scoop filling into tortillas and place in pan of choice… you can set it up any way you want, but it can get messy fast. Consider yourself warned. Fill each tortilla with a healthy scoop of filling and a little cheese, roll and place in pan until pan(s) is full.  Don’t pack them too tight – you want room for the sauce to get in between each one. 

  

When pan is full, top with 3/4 of enchilada sauce (split if using 2 pans), reserve extra sauce for topping before serving. Top with the rest of the cheese and pop it in the oven at 375 for 25 minutes – or until the cheese is nice and melty.  While its cooking, take a minute to get your toppings ready – I love sour cream and fresh avocado! 

  

Top with remaining sauce and, this part is important so pay attention: Enjoy!  Of course no Cinco De Mayo is complete without a delicious Mexican beer! You might have extra filling, save it and make tasty leftover burritos the next day- or if you have extra of eveything, make another pan and take it to a neighbor!

  

For the beans, it only takes a minute and makes a world of difference! Fun Fact: You can use these same ingredients with fresh beans in a crock pot if you have the time. Just keep the beans covered in water to keep them from drying out. 

For the beans all you need is:

• Can (or 2!) of whole pinto beans
• 1 yellow chili, you can get this at any grocery store
• 1/2 tsp. of cumin
• 1/2 tsp. of ground coriander
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt to taste (more the better if you ask me!)
• Your favorite salsa to top it off 

Roast the chili on your stove top till blackened, and place in the pot with the beans, garlic and spices. Simmer about 20 minutes, until the chili is completely cooked and falling apart a little. You can have them cooking while your enchiladas are in the oven. See, I told you multi tasking was fun.  Serve with a dollop of your favorite salsa and enjoy as a side dish to your amazing enchiladas! 

  

Thanks for cooking along with me today. Please let me know if you enjoy these as much as I do and in the meantime, have a fun (and safe) Cinco De Mayo! Eat up!! 

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