Mexitarian Enchiladas

So a Mexican girl gone vegan? Let's just say my parents were a little nervous about my trip back to Houston for the holidays.  I planned on bringing a few key food items with me (nutritional yeast, coconut flakes, tea, agave nectar, ground flax seed)  and buying more once I got there. My mother made her fantastic guacamole so my husband and I would have something to snack on when we arrived.  As I stuffed my face with yummy avacado, my mom expressed that she had no idea what to make for Christmas dinner for my new diet, new lifestyle.  I said, don't worry I'll make some amazing things.  I've been cooking vegan now for about 5 months, so there has been some horrific things my sweet husband had to taste, but there has also been some mouth watering, "will eat again" meals.

What I didn't plan on in Houston was my strong cravings for Mexican food that I didn't even eat while I was there. Well, besides guacamole and salsa.  Amazingly, a recipe passed my way via nytimes.com.  It was for vegan enchiladas!! Yayyyy! The recipe is adapted from Ayinde Howell from ieatgrass.com

VEGAN ENCHILADAS
yield 2 to 3 servings
time 1 hour and 15 min

Ingredients

For the sauce:
1/4 cup safflower oil or other vegetable oil
half a medium onion, died
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 serrano peppers, seeded and diced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/2 ground cumin
1 tbls chili powder
1 tbls chipotle powder
1 can diced tomatoes
juice from one lime
salt to taste

For filling and Assembly:

1 pound firm tofu, drained and loosely crumbled
10 7-inch corn tortillas
1/2 medium onion
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 handful of coursely chopped cilantro
2 tbls cumin seeds
2 tbls garlic
3 tbls all purpose flour
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 or more of chili powder to taste
2 tbls Tamari sauce
juice of 2 limes

If you happen to have a molcahete, I recommend putting the cumin and garlic in it and make a paste.  Add hot water to the paste before you dump it in the tofu mixture.

For Salsa:

1 can of diced tomatos OR  6-8 fresh tomatos
1 or 2 jalapenos. this is good fresh or roasted--add one first, then taste and decide...
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup onion
1 handful cilantro
1 lime juice
salt to taste

For Guacamole:

4 avacados
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
juice of 1 lime
(a very simple guac serving as a refresher for the complex spices)

Method
Sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat oil until shimmering.  Add onions, garlic and jalapeno (or other peppers).  Saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add cumin, chili powder, and flour, whisking until browned and thickened. Slwly stir in 3/4 cup vegetable broth and tomatoes, mixing well. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Season with salt to taste. Remove from heat or just keep it to low.

For Filling and assembly: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil until himmering.  Add tofu and cook until l brown and somewhat crispy, and its liquid has evaporated, stirring from underneath to prevent sticking 10-15 minutes.

Once tofu looks brown and cooked on all sides, add two-thirds of the onion and 1/2 of the red bell pepper. Stir, and add garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, cumin and chili powder. Mix well. Add soy sauce and mix well.season with salt to taste. Saute until until the onionand red bell pepper beginto soften. 5-10 minutes. add 1-2 tbls water if mixture seems partched, but it should be dry and the tofu should resemble criped dried pieces of meat.

While the tofu mixture is cooking, wrap the tortillas tightly in aluminum foil, and place them in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove, keeping them wrapped, and set aside.

In a shallow 9-by-7-inch casserole (or large enough to hold the enchiladas snugly in one layer), add 1/3 of the sauce to coat the bottom of the casserole. Unwrap the hot tortillas, and place one in the sauce to coat it, then turn it over so that it is coated on both sides. Add one-sixth of the filling, and roll the tortilla tightly. Place it seam side down on the sauce. Repeat to make six filled tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce on top of the tortillas, and sprinkle with remaining uncooked onion and red bell pepper, guacamole, and salsa. Bake until sauce is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Serve, if desired, with a green salad or brown rice.