Ideal for EatingEating ethically while eating great!

Some friends had a football game-watching party today. The culinary theme was "junk food." People were going to be bringing things such as Frito pie, Jell-O shots and Velveeta-based chili con queso. While I did not fully give into the junk food mandate, I made a couple of vegan "low" dishes: enchilada casserole and chocolate guacamole. All the meat-eaters at the party happily ate both dishes and did not miss the meat, the butter or the trans-fats!

Sweet and spicy enchilada casserole -- prep time: ~ 40 min.; depending on portion size, serves 12 - 16

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons coconut oil

dash of Vermouth or dry white wine

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bell pepper (any color), diced

2 cans black beans, rinsed

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup pineapple, diced (I use a hand chopper to dice it very fine so you don't have any hard bites)

several slices of canned jalapeño, diced (I dice these with the pineapple in the hand chopper)

1 tablespoon or so of jalapeño juice

2 tablespoons lime juice

10-12 tortillas (flour or corn, as you prefer)

1+ cup of vegan cheddar cheese, shredded

 

Directions

Make enchilada gravy (recipe below). Preheat oven to 375°F. Sauté onions and garlic in coconut oil until soft and almost caramelized. Deglaze pan with Vermouth or dry white wine. Add bell peppers and sauté for a few minutes. Add black beans, salt and spices. Mix thoroughly. Add pineapple, jalapeños and juice, and lime juice. Mix thoroughly. 

In a medium - large casserole dish (I use one that is 8"x12"), pour almost have of the enchilada gravy into bottom of dish. Place a layer of tortillas on top of gravy. I break 3 tortillas in half and place the straight edge of each half along the edge of the casserole dish: two halves per long end, 1 half per short end. Then I put two whole tortillas over holes left in middle.

Place all the black bean mixture  on top of tortilla layer, spreading it out evenly.

Layer more tortillas on top of black bean mixture, as you did for bottom layer. Pour rest of enchilada gravy on top of tortillas. Scatter shredded cheese on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

Enchilada gravy -- prep time: 20 min.; makes enough for one casserole dish full of enchiladas

Ingredients

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chili powder

2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

10 ounces tomato paste

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon canned jalapeños, diced

1/4 cup pineapple, finely diced

1 tablespoon juice from jalapeños and pineapple

juice from 1 lime

 

Directions

(When I dice the pineapple and jalapeños with a hand chopper for the black bean mixture above, I reserve a bit to use for the sauce.) Heat oil then whisk in flour (1 min). Whisk in chili powder (30 sec). Add broth, wine, tomato paste, cumin and salt. Stir, bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook for 15 minutes to thicken. Stir in pineapple, jalapeño/juice and lime juice. Heat through.