Cheesy Beef Enchilada Bake

Ingredients

• 500g beef mince
• 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tbsp mild chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 large flour tortillas
• 120ml soured cream
• 300g mixed grated cheese, mozzarella and cheddar mix
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Pat the mince dry and season generously with salt and pepper before it hits the pan — water means steam, and steam means no browning.
2. Warm the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the mince in two batches — all at once and the pan crowds, water comes out, and you've boiled the meat instead of browning it. You want deep colour and proper stuck bits on the base of the pan.
3. Return all the mince to the pan, stir in the onion and red pepper, and cook for 6 minutes until softened and glossy at the edges.
4. Add the grated garlic, chilli powder, cumin, smoked paprika and tomato puree. Bloom the spices in the oil for 30–60 seconds until fragrant and the paste has darkened a shade — raw spices taste dusty, bloomed spices taste of themselves. Watch the garlic: just until fragrant, no more, or it turns the whole dish bitter.
5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes with a good splash of water to loosen, scraping up the fond from the base. The liquid breaks the tomatoes down so they taste of summer fruit, not tin. Add the black beans, simmer for 12–15 minutes until thick and spoonable rather than soupy. Taste, season, taste again — adjust now, not at the table.
6. Spread a thin layer of the mixture over the base of a large baking dish. Fill each tortilla with a generous spoonful, roll tightly and place seam-side down in neat rows.
7. Spoon the remaining sauce over the top, dollop the soured cream across in spoonfuls, and scatter the cheese right to the edges so it crisps against the dish. Bake for 18–22 minutes until bubbling around the sides and the cheese is properly golden and blistered in patches.
8. Rest for 5 minutes so the layers hold when you lift portions — the tortillas soften into the sauce while the top stays burnished.
9. Bring the dish to the table, scatter over any cheese that's caught at the edges, and serve with the lime wedges for squeezing — the squeeze of lime cuts straight through the richness.