When life gets frenetic, midweek dinners can often be my undoing. During these times, I find myself digging deep into my repertoire for an easy one-dish bake that will satisfy all the mouths around my table.

This recipe is my current midweek saviour – an enchilada-inspired bake, featuring layers of corn tortilla mingling with black beans, corn from the freezer (though use fresh if you have it), baby spinach, a spicy tomato sauce and gooey cheese.

This recipe is versatile by design. Use ingredients that you have in your pantry for the filling: chickpeas or cannellini beans would work well, black olives would add a nice hit of saltiness or opt for kale or swiss chard in place of spinach. I’m keen to add a layer of roasted sweet potato for an even heartier dish.

An additional but very helpful shortcut is to use a good quality store-bought passata or pasta sauce – if you do this, you’ll need about 1 litre of sauce.

Black bean, corn and spinach layered enchilada bake

Serves 4-6

Gluten free

extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1.2kg (3 cans) diced tomatoes

1-2 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (or ½ - 1 tsp ground chipotle powder)

4-5 green onions, finely chopped

1 bunch coriander, finely chopped

100g baby spinach

1 can (275g) black beans, drained

250g frozen corn kernels (use fresh if you have), thawed

10 x 15cm corn tortillas

500g grated cheddar cheese

sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 200C. You will need an ovenproof baking dish, approximately 25cm x 30cm, although a dish a bit larger will work too.

In a large frypan on high heat, add a drizzle of oil, along with the onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until the onions have softened and are starting to caramelise.

Add the tomatoes along with 1 cup of water (you could also use vegetable stock) and the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. I use just one pepper as I don’t want it too spicy for my kids, however feel free to use more if you like it hot.

Reduce heat to low, season with sea salt and black pepper and allow to simmer for 8-10 minutes. When ready, turn off the heat, and blend until smooth.

Take your ovenproof dish and drizzle with a bit of olive oil, along with 3-4 dollops of the tomato sauce. Spread the sauce with the back of a spoon, and then begin layering.

First, lay out 3 tortillas, breaking them up (if you need to) so they don’t overlap too much. Add the black beans, green onions, 3-4 spoons of the tomato sauce, and 2-3 handfuls of grated cheese. Season with a little sea salt and black pepper.

Now we will begin the next layer – lay out 3 tortillas, then top with spinach, 3-4 spoons of the tomato sauce, a scattering of cheese, coriander, corn and season with sea salt and black pepper.

And now the final layer – lay out the final 4 tortillas, top with the remaining tomato sauce, spreading it out with the back of a spoon. Top with remaining cheese. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes, before cutting and serving.