Candied Yam Enchiladas

This is a dish I recently made for my naughty band at our annual holiday bash - a party that calls for food that can withstand a night of debauchery and beverage intake. Perfect for dinner parties or a week full of leftovers, the trick to this recipe is to dry roast the yams until their sugars ooze out and caramelize. This my friends is heaven. When that silky yam honey goodness finally escapes and breaks through the skin, spoon it up and stuff it into your mouth.

SERVES: 4-6

COOKES IN: 45 min

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 large yams

• 1 cup of uncooked rice

• 2 cups of water or broth

• 2 garlic cloves diced

• 1 onion diced

• 1 can of cooked beans (if the beans are precooked and in liquid, drain the liquid and thoroughly wash them).

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• A handful of diced tomatoes (if tomatoes aren't in season, I grab a can of

• Dash of chilli pepper

• Dash of cumin

• Dash of paprika

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 200 grams of meltable cheese like Mozza or Monterey Jack, grated

• One pack of flour tortillas

*optional enchilada toppings - cilantro, avocado, salsa or hot sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Dry roast yams on a baking sheet at 400 degrees. Roast them until they are fork-tender and their sugars have caramelized, exploded and leaked out of the skins. (By dry roast I mean no oil and don’t prick them. Just pop the whole yam into the oven. This method forces the yams to steam themselves which ends up caramelizing the sugars making the insides very sweet.)

2. While this is going on sauté your garlic, onion and spices in a pan with oil on medium heat.

3. Once the onions are translucent, add the dry rice in and fry for a minute or until the rice is covered in oil.

4. Add in the tomato paste, tomatoes, beans and 2 cups of broth or water.

5. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 min or until the rice is al dente.

6. Take off the heat and set aside.

7. Once the yams are done, cut the yams in half and scoop out the insides. Add this yam filling to your rice and beans mixture.

8. Now take one tortilla, and a few spoonfuls of the yam, rice and bean mixture and place this filling into the middle of the tortilla. Wrap the tortilla up tightly and place at one edge of your rectangular ovenproof dish. Repeat and stack the tortillas until the dish is full.

9. Cover the wrapped tortillas in grated cheese.

10. Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted and has brown edges

11. Serve with hot sauce, enchilada sauce or your favourite fresh salsa