speedvegan

Seitan Enchiladas, originally uploaded by speedvegan.

Recently, Geoffrey and I joined an organic produce co-op. It has been a very exciting experience for us – not knowing what we’ll get and then coming up with recipes once we’ve picked up our share. This week we got a ton of green peppers and onions as well as some pear shaped cherry tomatoes. It’s fun to try to come up with ways to use it all up, even the items that I’m not too crazy about, like tomatoes. And that’s how this recipe was born. For the sauce, I used Isa’s Salsa Verde recipe in Veganomicon for inspiration, but the outcome was so different, that I’ve decided to blog my version.

Sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
10 cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chipotle powder (optional)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable broth
juice of 1 small lime
1 cup fresh cilantro

Enchiladas:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 pound seitan, chopped
1 tsp Mexican seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
chipotle powder, to taste (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
8 flour tortillas
5 oz vegan cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Make the sauce first. In a small saucepan, saute garlic and jalapeno in olive oil over low heat for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and spices. Cook until tomatoes begin to soften. Then add the vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Stir in lime juice and cilantro. Transfer to a blender and process until relatively smooth. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and start making the filling. In a large skillet, saute onion in olive oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add garlic, green pepper and seitan. Cook for a few more minutes. Stir in about three tablespoons of the enchilada sauce until well incorporated. Add spices and vegetable broth. Cook until liquid is mostly absorbed. Stir in the cilantro and remove from heat.

3. Spread about four tablespoons of the enchilada sauce over the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish. Start assembling the enchiladas by adding about three heaping tablespoons of the filling and some of the cheese to each tortilla. Roll and place in baking dish next to each other. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. Use a brush to spread evenly. Cover with remaining cheese.

4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before digging in (the filling will be VERY hot). Serve with vegan sour cream.

The Awesome Stack, originally uploaded by cloudmonkey.

1/4 cup pesto sauce
1 jar vegan marinara sauce
1 large eggplant
salt
olive oil
fresh ground pepper
2 cups water
1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal

1. Make the pesto sauce ahead of time.

2. Pour marinara sauce into a medium saucepan. Keep warm over low heat, covered, until ready to use.

3. Heat grill and broiler.

4. Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch thick rounds. If desired, salt eggplant and set aside for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, rinse eggplant and pat dry. Generously brush each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Place on grill and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side. Keep brushing with olive oil while eggplant is cooking.

5. In the meantime, bring water to a boil. Add cornmeal and bring down to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Stir in the pesto and cook for another minute. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Place polenta in an 8×8 or slightly bigger baking dish, smooth top. Broil until golden. Set aside to cool. Then slice into squares.

6. To serve, start with one eggplant slice. Cover it with marinara sauce. Place a polenta slice on top and cover it with some more marinara sauce. Repeat. Garnish with fresh basil.

This is a perfect gourmet meal for any special occasion.