Sunday, January 27, 2008

Enchiladas with Green Chili Sauce

From The Complete Vegan Cookbook:

Enchiladas with Green Chili Sauce

The authors recommend "any side dish rice and store-bought salsa" can be served with this dish.

Yield: 4 main-dish servings
Prep: 1 1/2 hours, including oven time [but this was my first time making it; hopefully next time will be shorter!!]. These enchiladas were REALLY, really good. It did not even taste like it includes tofu. As cold leftovers, it might resemble something you'd rather not think about, but it reheats nicely in the microwave. I will definitely make this again!

The sauce
2 cans (4 oz. each) mild green chilies, drained [I searched high and low for these, and could not find them in Publix, Walmart, or Kroger. I ended up using a jar of Mild Banana Pepper Rings. The final product still tasted very good, but I have no idea what it would taste like with the correct ingredient.]
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro [Um, I didn't have this, so I used up all my dried cilantro, 16 tsp. But I AM going to use fresh next time.]
2 cups vegetable stock [I used one 14-ounce can]
1/2 cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced [I used an entire white onion]
3 cloves garlic, minced [I always use more garlic than it says; 6 minced cloves here]
1 T chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp [non-iodized sea] salt
Several grinds black pepper [... or several shakes from dollar store pepper shaker]

The enchiladas
8 [whole-wheat] flour tortillas
12 ounces frozen firm tofu, defrosted and patted dry [The tofu I bought was 14 ounces, but I used the entire 14-ounce package, and didn't notice any taste difference!]
1 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
2 T canola oil
8 ounces Monterey Jack-style soy cheese, grated [um, I used real dairy cheese since I didn't want to drive a half hour to Whole Foods]

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

First, make the sauce: In a blender or food processor , combine the green chilies, cilantro, stock, pumpkin seeds, onion, garlic, chili powder, coriander, rice syrup, salt, and pepper. [I used my new Vita-Mix blender; I don't know how a regular blender/processor can pulverize the pumpkin seeds? I guess they can.] Puree, then transfer the mixture to a heavy-bottomed skillet and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. [How on earth can one person stir this frequently and do the next steps at the same time? I am not Wonder Woman.]

Meanwhile, warm the tortillas by heating them one at a timeover a gas burner or in a hot skillet for about 30 seconds, turning once or twice during this time. Wrap them in a clean tea towel to keep them warm. [Confession: I totally skipped this step. Didn't see the reason for it, since it's all going to get warm in the oven eventually. Not to mention, it will be stone cold by the time I get to it after the next few steps.]

Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Set aside. Leave the remaining sauce in the skillet.

Crumble the tofu into a bowl and toss with the chili powder and cumin [I added a dash of each on top of what the recipe requires, because I included the 2 extra ounces of tofu]. Heat the oil over medium-high in a separate skillet. Add the tofu mixture and stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

[Set up an assembly line: tortillas, skillet with sauce, large empty plate, bowls with cheese and tofu, then baking dish.] Working with one tortilla at a time, briefly immerse it in the sauce remaining in the skillet to coat it lightly. [Be careful to coat it quickly and move it to the plate, or else the warm sauce will make the tortilla tear in your hands!] Place the tortilla flat on a plate, and, with your hands, place about 1/8 of the tofu and 1/8 of the cheese in a narrow heap across the tortilla, slightly off-center. [I probably used more cheese than it said to, ahem.] Loosely roll up the tortilla around the filling, and place it seam side down on the plate. Cover and bake for 20 minutes, then allow to stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.

Each serving provides: 592 calories, 34g protein, 29g fat, 8g dietary fiber, 54g carbohydrates, 1030mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

green chilies are hot, hot, hot

Foodie Guwl said...

Where did you find "brown rice syrup" and what is it?

Jane Eyre said...

It's a sweetener that looks like darker honey. I bought mine at the local independent health food store. It needs to be refrigerated once opened - found out the hard way....