Karina's Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

These gluten-free enchiladas won the Whole Foods Budget recipe contest.

Just in case you missed it, I'm sharing one of the all-time favorite recipes here on Gluten-Free Goddess- my sweet potato black bean enchiladas smothered in salsa verde. This budget-friendly vegetarian enchilada recipe is one of those happy accidents that spring from a burst of creative inspiration. I was craving the soft and spicy comfort of enchiladas one windy spring night back in 2003, and I had none of the usual suspects on hand (no chicken, or beef, no pinto beans).

But I had one lovely mother of a sweet potato.

I had a can of organic black beans in the pantry.

Some roasted green chiles.

One lonely lime.

And your intrepid Mamacita at large thought, Hmmm. Why not?

Deliciousness ensued.

These wrapped little gems are soft and creamy and a little bit spicy- just like a certain cook, my husband would say. It's the yams, I tell him. Er, sweet potato. I can never tell the difference. In the end, it doesn't matter. What matters is how it tastes.

And Babycakes, these are so very mucho scrumptious. Seriously. I kid you not. Make a batch for a girls' night in, or laid back Sunday brunch.


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Roasted Hatch Chile Stew Recipe with Sweet Potato, Corn + Lime

Scrumptious slow cooker stew with roasted chiles, sweet potato and lime

Ho-la! It's that time of year again. The annual roasted Hatch chile madness is upon us here in chile blessed New Mexico. You can smell the intoxicating smoky-sweet scent of roasting green chiles everywhere you go. Even Walmart. Seriously. There's a roaster out front in the baking hot Espanola Walmart parking lot as we speak, firing it up, doing his New Mexican green chile roasting thing, turning his dented blackened barrel over a fire. Wiping his brow. Slugging down his cola. People are lined up waiting for their batch. Inside the store's entrance stacks of crated fresh chiles dominate the floor space like so many Stanley Kubrick obelisks (cue music).

If you live in Nuevo Mexico, you worship at the Sacred Temple of the Holy Chile Pepper.

The devotion to roasted chile runs deep in these parts and yes, it's with an e never with an i; if you call chile chili in these parts you may as well kiss your white bread tuchas good-bye, pendajo, because you'll be laughed out of the state. Shunned. Scorned. These folks get very serious about their autumn roasted chile. Don't mess with 'em.

It's harvest time.

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How To Make Roasted Green Chile Sauce

Fire roasted green chile, fresh from a roadside roaster.

How to make a roasted green chile sauce New Mexico style? First you start with bags of fresh roasted Hatch chiles.

The Fall Equinox is right around the corner. And in our small corner of the world that means only one thing- it's chile roasting time. New Mexicans are passionate about their state's most distinctive crop. Smoky, spicy and sweet all at once is the best way I can describe the complex flavor of New Mexican roasted chiles.

Roasters are ubiquitous now- along the roadsides and in parking lots- stoking their fires outside Whole Foods and Walmart alike, turning barrels of fresh Hatch chiles over open flames. The aroma is enough to make you weep.

With spicy chile happiness, that is.

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Calabasitas Recipe with Summer Corn, Zucchini, Green Chiles and Lime

Zucchini, corn and lime- perfect for a picnic.

Calabasitas Recipe with Summer Corn, Zucchini, Green Chiles and Lime

This recipe makes enough for a generous side dish, perfect for picnics and backyard grilled suppers; but if you'd prefer to make this a one-dish meal, add in two generous cups of cooked chicken or drained canned black beans, pour into a casserole, cover and bake in a moderate 350ºF oven for 20 to 25 minutes or so, until heated through.

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Vegetarian Green Chile Recipe

Fresh roasted Hatch green chiles.

Steve brought home two more bags of fresh roasted green chiles, still warm. Hot and spicy Hatch chiles are my favorite. The fragrance is smoky, sweet and spicy all at once. I wish Blogger provided smell-a-vision. I got cookin' and whipped up a vegetarian version of my New Mexico green chile.

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