Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Green Enchiladas

I have lamented before about the poor selection of ethnic food available in my city. There are no ethnic markets, just an ethnic section in the grocery store. On top of that, I shop at a store called No Frills which, as the name suggests, has no frills (selection is often a frill). So I was very happy to see green salsa for sale on the shelves the other day (back in Ohio I used to buy fresh tomatillos and make my own green enchilada sauce, but those days are over). Then, the bulk food store was selling off Vegan Gourmet cheese for 99 cents--I had to buy some. The logical dish to make was enchiladas. The taste was very good, considering pretty much everything came from a can, but it reminded me that I can live without Vegan Gourmet.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 can Old El Paso green chiles, with juices
- 1/2 cup tomato salsa
- 2 cups finely chopped veggie lunch meat
- 1/2 cup shredded vegan cheese (optional) plus more for top
- 10 wheat tortillas (or corn)
- 1 1/2 jars green salsa

METHOD
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 x 11 baking dish.
1. Heat oil in a saucepan over med-hi heat. Saute onion and garlic for 5-7 mins, until translucent. Add chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon and mix well.
2. Add chiles, salsa, and veggie meat to the pan and bring to bubbling. Stir in cheese if using, and adjust seasonings to taste. Remove from heat.
3. Place 1/10th of the filling in a tortilla and roll up. Place in prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas. Cover everything with salsa and as much cheese as you want.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 mins, or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted (or whatever it is that vegan cheese does).