Mushroom, Black Bean, and Red Pepper Enchiladas

Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 1 recipe of mushrooms (below)
• 1 recipe of enchilada sauce (below)
• 2-3 C. of cashew cheese sauce (below)
• 3 roasted red peppers, peeled and sliced into thin (1/8″) strips
• 2-3 C. cooked black beans (canned will do)
• Corn tortillas

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375’F
2. Stir together mushrooms, 1-2 C. of enchilada sauce, 1-2 C. of cashew sauce, red peppers, and black beans. Taste and adjust amounts as necessary.
3. Toast tortillas over medium heat, until flexible and pliable. Set aside and keep warm.
4. In a 9×13 casserole, coat the bottom of the pan with some of the enchilada sauce.
5. Add filling and roll tortillas, placing seam side down in the casserole.
6. Keep rolling until you run out of space, or filling, or tortillas, or all of the above.
7. Top with more of the enchilada sauce, and finish with some more of the cashew cheese sauce.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the “cheese” starts to brown.
9. Serve. Consume. Enjoy.

Enchilada Sauce*

Ingredients

• 6 (approx) dried Guajillo chilies
• 4 (approx) dried Ancho chilies
• 4 (approx) dried Cascabel chilies **
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, halved and seeded
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1-2 tsp. Mexican oregano
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste***
• Water
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper

Instructions

1. Remove stems and seeds from the chilies, and cut or tear into 1-inch pieces.
2. In a saucier pan or skillet with a lid, over medium heat, dry roast the chilies until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add onion, tomato, and a heavy pinch of salt and cook until onion begins to brown.
4. Return chilies, and add garlic, oregano, and add water to cover. Lid up and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Remove solids from the cooking liquid and add to a blender. Add enough of the cooking liquid to blend into a thick sauce (think canned tomato sauce).
6. Taste for seasoning. Mine needed more salt and a little bit of apple cider vinegar.

Notes

* Based of Binging With Babish’ Schitt’s Creek Enchilada sauce
** You can use many different combinations of dried chilies, depending on what you have available and what you like.
*** This adds some great sweetness. Adjust as you like.

Mushrooms*

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. oyster mushrooms
• 3 portabello mushrooms
• Kosher salt
• Peanut or other neutral oil

Equipment

• 2 cast iron skillets – one that fits into the other

Instructions

1. Over medium-high heat, heat one of the cast iron pans until “ripping hot.”
2. Add a pinch of salt directly to the bottom of the pan.
3. Add oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the mushrooms (cooking in batches), another pinch of a salt, and another splash of oil.
5. Add the other cast iron pan on top of the mushrooms.
6. When the mushrooms begin to soften, with a towel, press down gently but firmly to flatten the mushrooms. Repeat until mushrooms are flat and browned.
7. Flip and repeat.
8. Move to cutting board and finely chop.

Notes

* Based off The Sarno Brother’s method of mushroom alchemy.

Cashew “Cheese” Sauce*

Ingredients

• 1 C. raw cashews
• 2 C. vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp. garlic power
• 1 tsp. onion power
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

1. If you have a high speed blender (Blendtec, Vitamix, etc), add all ingredients and blend until silky smooth (I put my Blendtec on “soup” mode and let it run).
2. If you don’t have a high speed blender, soak the cashews for 15 minutes in hot water, discard the nut water, and then blend in whatever blending vessel you have.
3. Add smooth sauce to a sauce pan and cook on medium low until it reaches a desired consistency. For this application, you want it on the thick side, but still easily spreadable.

Notes

* From Bad Manners, “Brave New Meal” – one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, along with all of the other Bad Banners cookbooks.