Leftovers Three Ways. Way #2: Roasted Vegetable and Grain Enchiladas

 

I've gotta say, after trying this recipe, I may never again pay $5 for fake meat based on TVP, tofu, or weird fungi. This was good. And natural. And cheap. And it used up these leftovers.

 

I'm not actually a fan of fake meat. I'd usually rather have vegetables, or occasionally have the real thing. Yet every once and a while, the craving for nachos or meatballs hits me, and I just find myself not wanting to spend $15 for a bowl of free range chili (for that price, I'll take the ribs).

 

This does the trick and it's all natural and homemade. This time, I used a pre-mixed taco seasoning for flavor (I wanted something salty!). Next time, I'd keep things simple to let the vegetable flavor shine through. I could imagine a variety of light seasonings: a little lemon juice, salt and pepper, maybe a little sage or coriander, cayenne, chili powder, or curry powder. I absolutely loved what the ground up pecans did to this dish. Greg is allergic to walnuts, but I imagine those would work just as well. Next time I'll up it to a full cup of nuts, and I'll toast them beforehand. I also happened to toss in some of the braised tofu as well, although I'm not sure that it added anything, so I left tofu out of this recipe.

 

Roasted Vegetable and Grain Enchiladas

Serves 2-4

 

Substitute any vegetables and any grain (except white rice, which might get mushy...) and any nuts you wish. Toasting the nuts before hand might be tasty. This particular set of roasted veggies included carrots, zucchini, asparagus and green peas - but of course, anything would work quite well. You could assemble the filling ahead of time.

 

In a blender or cuisenart, puree, or finely chop by hand:

~1 cup mixed roasted vegetables and Quinoa

1 egg

Generous 1/2 cup pecans

In a medium bowl, combine the veggie/grain mixture with:

Another 1/2 cup roasted vegetables and Quinoa

Seasonings of choice

Set aside the veggie/grain mixture. Chop:

1/2 sweet onion

1 red pepper

To a large fry pan, add:

1 tbsp olive oil

and saute the onions and peppers on medium-high heat until soft (~10 minutes). Add the veggie/grain mixture and continue sauteeing until cooked through (~10 minutes). Add a splash of olive oil to the bottom of  a large casserole dish and assemble the enchiladas with:

6 10-12" flour tortillas

Add ~1/3 cup enchilada filling to each tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the filling and place, seam side down, in casserole dish. Once assembled, pour over the top of the enchiladas:

1 cup simple red salsa, with a few shots of hot sauce if you wish

1/4 cup chopped pickled jalepenos or green chilis

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until everything is bubbling. Sprinkle over the top of the enchiladas:

1 cup grated cheese

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve with sour cream. and extra salsa.

Eat your vegetables

7 years ago, when I first started my vegetarian ways, I started learning how to cook. I wanted things a certain way, with certain ingredients, in a certain amount of time with a certain cost. Sometimes those wishes are hard to fulfil all at once. Sometimes, what I succeed with in the ingredient list fails miserably in flavor. Sometimes? I'm just too damn picky. Nowadays I can usually see a train wreck coming. But sometimes, I expect a recipe to go very, very wrong, and I make it anyways.

Tonight's dinner was a lofty goal. It was to be comfort food, a dairy-free lasagna, and it and couldn't involve tofu, nuts or tomato sauce. I wanted to the first thing because it's below 30 outside. I wanted the second thing because, well, otherwise I'd regret it. And I wanted the third thing... just because I was feeling picky. I also needed to use up a pound of mushrooms. I mean, aren't they cute? Though, seriously folks, please wash your mushrooms. It might be pasteurized manure, but it's still manure! Flavor be damned - I choose not to knowingly eat dirt.

Er, anyway, traditional lasagna relies on a Bechemel sauce to add moisture between layers. It's a clever trick, because the creamy fat in the bechemel tames and binds together the other flavors without stealing the show itself. For a while now, I've been imagining a dairy-free lasagna that utilizes a Veloute sauce instead of a Bechemel. They both start with a roux (equal volume flour and fat - aka butter - cooked together); to make a Bechemel, add milk, and to make a Veloute, add stock. The Veloute would have a heartier but sharper flavor than a Bechemel would.

I struggled with the mushroom part. It's easy to overpower or cover up a mushroom flavor; it is harder to balance it, especially without cheese. Here, I used half of the Veloute for layering with mushrooms, and I pureed the other half with an equal volume of frozen peas. I reduced the puree on the stove, to give the lasagna a bit of structure, and assembled the whole thing with no-bake noodles.

I know: mushrooms, peas and no-bake noodles. You're expecting this to bomb, too, right? In fact, until the first bite, I assumed it had bombed. And then I took a taste of melt-in-my-mouth goodness: balanced, filling, structured, flavorful, all of it, this lasagna rocked. Greg, who is often skeptical of my vegan-style or dairy-free creations, raved. He called it Steak Lastunia. Meaty like a steak. Looks like a lasagna. Fills ya' up like a stew. Inventive name, no?

The whole thing wasn't super photogenic, but it actually looks lovely, delicate and very green in person. Served with a good salad and a grain or lentil based side, this is definite dinner-party material.

Okay, like, I just got up (at 11pm) and had a second helping. Greg says it was my third. Oh that's good.

Mushroom Lasagna with Pureed Peas

Serves: 4, if you have willpower

Ingredients:

About 1 pound assorted mushrooms, sliced to 1/4" *

1 small onion, chopped (~1/2 cup)

8 no-bake Barilla lasagna noodles**

3 cups stock

4 tbsp butter***

4 tbsp flour

1.5 cups frozen peas

1 tsp oregano

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and Pepper

*I used 2 medium portabella's, about 10 oz baby bellas, and several oz shitakes. The one pound total was already sliced and minus the stems (the portabella stems miraculously disappeared when I turned my back - err, Tori - and shitake stems aren't very good to eat)

**Or however many will make 4 layers in an 8x8" pan

***I could taste the butter in the final dish. If you want to go with less fat, reduce this to 2-3 tbsp and just cook the roux a little more carefully. It'll thicken the same.

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to large pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to caramelize (about 10 minutes). Add onion and cook until translucent (~5 minutes)
3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucier on medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth, and cook the roux to a light, nutty brown color, whisking occasionally (5-10 minutes).
4. Add stock to the cooked roux 1/2 cup at a time, whisking thoroughly between each step to prevent lumps.
5. Splash the last tablespoon or so of stock into the mushroom pan to deglaze (scrape up the bottom to get all of the good bits).
6. Reserve 1.5 cups of Veloute. Add peas to remaining sauce. Puree in the pan with an immersion blender or a transfer to a blender/food processor for this step and return to saucier. Cook over medium-high heat until the puree has reduced by ~1/2 (10-15 minutes).
7. Layer the lasagna:

• 1/2 cup Veloute
• 2 noodles
• 1/2 cup Veloute
• 1/2 mushroom mixture
• 2 noodles
• Remaining Veloute
• Remaining mushrooms
• 2 noodles
• 1/2 pea puree
• 2 noodles
• 1/2 pea puree
• Parsley

7. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and broil until lightly browned. Serve immediately.