Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Nutty Enchiladas with Spicy Chile Sauce

From Andrea's kitchen:

I like this recipe, but will be honest that it wasn't Ben's favorite. I personally like it a lot and ate leftovers for 2 days after making it.

For the filling:
1 tbs olive oil
2 carrots - chopped fine
1 1/2 c minced onions
1 garlic clove - minced
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1 16oz package firm tofu
10 oz fresh spinach - large stems removed
1 1/2 c (1 15 oz can) black beans - rinsed and drained
1 c low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

For the sauce:
1 tbs olive oil
1 large garlic clove - minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 c finely chopped plum tomatoes (about 8)
1/4 c sherry (vege stock if you need non-A version)
1 tbs red or white wine vinegar
1 1/3 c water
1 pinch ground cloves
1 chipotle pepper (canned in adobo sauce)
1/4 c chopped almonds - lightly toasted
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste

4 10in or 8 6-8 in flour tortillas

1. Preheat the oven to 350*.
Make the filling: In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, garlic and oregano. Saute for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. While it cooks, take the tofu out of its water and pit it into a bowl. With your hands, break up the tofu by squeezing it through your fingers. Stir in the spinach into the onions and carrots and cook until the spinach wilts. Stir in black beans, then tofu, cottage cheese, salt and pepper. Take the pan off the heat.

2. Make the sauce: In a medium sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Ad the garlic, chili powder,and cumin seeds. Stir constantly for 30 seconds, making sure the garlic does not brown. Add the tomatoes and sherry (or broth), vinegar and water, and let the mixture simmer for 4 minutes. Add the cloves and chipotle pepper and simmer 6-8 minutes stirring, once or twice. Remove from the heat.

3. Grind the almonds fine in a food processor or blender. Add half the sauce to the blender and puree. If you want a spicy sauce, leave the chipotle in and blend. If you want a milder sauce take out part or the whole pepper. Transfer to a bowl. Puree the second half and add to the first half.

4. Assemble the dish: On your work surface, lay out 1 large or 2 small tortillas. Fill the tortillas with 1/4 filling. So 1/3 for one large, or 1/4 for 2 small. Roll them tight and place in casserole. Fill remaining tortillas. Pour sauce over the enchiladas, then cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes and serve hot.

2 comments:

Katie said...

This sounds REALLY good. A little complicated, but I'm guessing worth it!

Andrea and Ben said...

They were worth it. Definitely more time consuming that the enchiladas off the back of the sauce can, but tasty!!