Carlos Sarmiento
- Jun 15, 2021
- 4 min read

Beef & Mushroom Enchiladas with Roasted Sweet Pepper-Cilantro Sauce

(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)

Carlos‘ Food & Wine brings you an incredibly (yet satisfyingly) quick meal to make, perfect for a weeknight dinner…and who doesn’t love a good enchilada?

Did you know that enchiladas are a traditional Mexican dish that dates back over 500 years?

The origins of the enchiladas are first recorded by Spanish conquistadors during the early 1500’s when they discovered the ancient Aztec Empire.

(Photo: Sylvie Charron)

The people living in the lake region of The Valley of Mexico traditionally ate corn tortillas folded or rolled around small fish.

The native Nahuatl name for the flat corn bread used was tlaxcalli; the Spanish gave it the name tortilla.

The Nahuatl word for enchilada is chīllapītzalli, which is formed of the Nahuatl word for "chili" and the Nahuatl word for "flute", tlapitzalli…and from here the word (and dish) enchilada was born.

(Photo: Max Letek)

Let’s relive culinary history…with a twist.

Let‘s get cooking!

Menu: Beef and mushroom enchiladas with roasted sweet pepper-cilantro sauce

Wine pairing: 2019 Santa Julia - Malbec Bonarda “Tintillo” Blend (Mendoza - Argentina)

Serves 3

Ingredients

Beef & mushroom sauce:

1 pound of lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup of fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper
1 cup of fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, finely minced

Sweet pepper-cilantro sauce:

8 ounce pack of mini sweet peppers, roasted (see cooking directions below)
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Juice of one lime
1/4 cup of extra Virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
Juices of cooked mushrooms (see directions below for details)

Enchiladas:

12 soft corn tortillas
1 cup of sharp white cheddar or sharp cheddar blend cheese
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped (for garnish/topping)

Directions

Roasted sweet peppers:

Rinse peppers well and cut them in half lengthwise. Take seeds out.
Place them in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Arrange peppers in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until tender, 20-30 minutes at 400°F.

Mushrooms:

On a medium sized pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.
Add shallots and cook for 3-5 minutes.
Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
Turn off oven and remove pan from heat.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a bowl. Save mushroom juices/water in a small cup.

Sweet pepper-cilantro sauce:

In a blender, blend thoroughly: sweet peppers, roughly chopped cilantro, lime juice, oregano, salt/pepper, reserved mushroom juices and the rest of olive oil.

Beef:

In a medium sized deep pot, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.
Add onions and garlic and cook until almost translucent.
Add beef and cook for 5 minutes.
Add soy sauce and stir. Add salt, pepper and oregano and stir, cooking for 5 minutes.
Add fresh tomatoes, cilantro and lime juice, stir well and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add mushrooms, stir. Turn off oven and remove pot from heat.

Enchilada preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

On a large shallow and oven proof dish arrange 6 enchiladas as follows:

Scoop a generous amount of beef on one corn tortilla. Sprinkle some shredded cheese and carefully wrap tortilla. Use an additional corn tortilla to cover the and secure each enchilada. Place enchilada on the oven proof dish.
Repeat steps above until the over proof dish is filled with rolled enchiladas.
Generously coat the top of the enchiladas with the sweet pepper-cilantro sauce.
Top enchiladas with shredded cheese and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is fully melted on top.

Serve it up!

This dish makes a lovely presentation for a family style type of set up. Just top off with some chopped fresh cilantro and serve.

Buen provecho! Enjoy!

(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)

(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)

(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)

(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)

About the wine...

Special thanks to my friends at Winesellers Ltd. for their wonderful contribution of this refreshing red blend wine.

For the last twenty years, Santa Julia has taken a leading role in the transformation of Argentine winegrowing. This new chapter in its evolution is the result of their winemaking team’s permanent quest for improvement, one of the most prominent features of this group that has been working on Uco Valley’s potential for many years.

This mesmerizing terroir offers superb growing conditions, offered by its richly varied soils, the altitudes reaching up to 1400 masl, its harsh winters and warm summers with broad temperature ranges. Combined with the breathtaking view of the Andes mountain range, all of these features turn this region into an extraordinary place to grow wines of the highest quality.

2019 Santa Julia - Malbec Bonarda “Tintillo” Blend (Mendoza - Argentina)