Week 6: Fat Free Vegan Enchiladas

Before I was born, my parents lived in a Texas town close to the US / Mexico border. Their time in the southwest would later influence their children through an appreciation of Mexican food. I grew up looking forward to taco night and listening to my parents lament the fact that there were no "real" Mexican restaurants in our area nor did Taco Bell count in any form. As a child I believed them. To me, they were the premier authority on what "real" Mexican food was. As an adult I discovered they were absolutely right.

In my own travels in the southwest I eagerly sought Mexican restaurants run by people from Mexico who really knew how to cook Mexican food. My appreciation for this food deepened, enhanced by the vibrant colors of the peppers and spices used in the dishes. I fell in love with red sauces and green chilis. So when I happened upon this dish on www.fatfreevegan.com, I was delighted to find that it had both of the features that, to me, have become synonymous with good Mexican cooking.

What to Use

The Red Sauce:

Equal part red chili powder and flour (to thicken).
(I used 2 1/2 T of chili powder and 2 1/2 T of flour.)
1/2 T oregano
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
8 oz can of tomato sauce

Enchilada Filling:

2 1/2 cups of cooked pinto or black beans (I used black.)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 can of green chilies

Other:

1 dozen corn tortillas

What to Do

The Red Sauce:

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Turn a burner on to medium heat. Put the dry ingredients in the pan. Slowly add the tomato sauce, 2-3 oz at a time to build a thick paste. Make sure to mix while adding to avoid a clumpy sauce. Once all the tomato sauce is in, slowly add 8 oz of water to create a thin sauce. If you do not do this slowly, you will get clumps.

(By some culinary miracle, I did not get clumps!)

Enchiladas:

Mash the beans in a bowl.

(For those of you cooking on limited time, I would recommend simply substituting whole beans for refried beans - already mashed.)

Mix in the onion and can of chilies well.

Heat the corn tortillas in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to make them flexible. While they are heating, cover the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking pan with red sauce.

The rest of the procedure is messy and a lot of fun! The original recipe recommended having a wet cloth to wipe your hands on. Arrange an assembly line as follows: tortillas on the left, followed by the pan of red sauce, followed by the baking pan and finally the bowl with the filling.

1. Dip a corn tortilla into the red sauce. Make sure both sides are coated with sauce.
2. Put the tortilla in the pan so the middle of the tortilla is on the crease of the pan. Add about 3 spoonfuls of filling down the middle of the tortilla.
3. Roll up the tortilla keeping the seam toward the bottom.
4. Repeat this procedure packing the rolled tortillas up against each other.

(I ended up only using 10 of my 12 tortillas due to a bean filling shortage. These fit neatly into the 9 x 13 pan.)

Cook at 350 F for 25 – 30 minutes.

The kitchen smells delicious as my enchiladas bake. Stay tuned for results!