Root Vegetable Enchiladas (with Mole!)

I really need to learn how to make the “e” at the end of mole have an accent mark over the top of it because every time I type mole without it, it looks like I'm talking about eating sauce made of small animals who don't see very well! Um, no... DH loves enchiladas so I’m always looking for new and exciting vegetarian versions of this yummy treat. I really enjoyed these ones with roasted vegetables. The combination of the sweet veggies and the chocolate in the mole sauce along with the peppers was amazing! I know not everyone goes for that sweet-spicy combination but if you’re like me, you have to give these a try!

I do have to work on the cashew cream, though.. I think it needed more water! In my defense, it was my first time using nutritional yeast so maybe that’s the part that needs work! I would have tried a second batch since I really wanted to drizzle some over the top of the mole sauce but I just ran out of time… it’s hard when I’m trying to focus on a brand-new recipe while making chicken enchiladas for DH (just leave a comment if you ever want the chicken enchilada recipe – I have it saved and would be happy to share it. M always raves about it!) Next time, I’ll make the cashew cream first and just store it in the fridge. That should give me extra time to make more if needed.

On to the recipe! : )

Makes 2 very generous servings (4 enchiladas/2 each) You could almost get away with doing 1 enchilada per person and serving it with some seasoned rice, black beans, and/or salad (or some combination of those three sides). When I do enchiladas we have enchiladas and that’s it! They are just so filling!

Oh, before I go on… enchiladas freeze really well! Make a bunch; they are great to have on-hand and just pull out and re-heat when you need a quickie dinner.

Ingredients:
Jalapeno-Cashew Cream
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1-1/2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (see if you can find it in the bulk aisle - tubs of it are a bit spendy!)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Method: 1. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse on the "puree" setting until smooth.

Mole Sauce
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp. garlic, minced (I actually think I just used 5 cloves)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

Method:
Heat 1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.

2. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and cinnamon to the hot oil. Cover and cook until onion is almost tender (about 10 minutes). Stir occasionally during the cooking process.

3. Mix in the chili powder and flour. Stir three minutes.

4. Gradually mix in the broth and increase the heat to medium-high. Boil until reduced (it took mine about 15 or 16 minutes). Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate.

Enchilada Filling
Ingredients:
1/3 to 1/2 cup each sweet potato, red potatoes, and parsnip (peel the parsnip and sweet potato), diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe jalapeno cashew cream (above)
Flour tortillas
1 recipe mole sauce (above)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

1. Toss the vegetables, cumin, onion, olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Spread the veggie mixture onto the cookie sheet and roast 45-50 minutes or until they are soft and lightly browned, stirring once or twice during the roasting time. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees.


**Make the mole sauce while the vegetables roast.**

2. Remove the vegetables from the oven and let them cool a little. Once cooled, toss them in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of the jalapeno cashew cream. Scoop the vegetable filling into the tortillas and roll each one into an enchilada.

3. Pour a little mole sauce into the bottom of a baking dish. Place each enchilada on top of the mole. Cover the enchiladas with additional mole sauce. If desired, use the remaining cashew cream to drizzle over the mole-covered enchiladas.

4. Bake the enchiladas, uncovered, for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Reference: The jalapeno cashew cream and the enchilada filling recipes are based on "Roasted Root Vegetable Enchiladas" and "Chipotle Cashew Cream" from the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of VegNews magazine.
Changes for the enchilada filling included adding in the red potatoes and using the mole sauce in place of red or green enchilada sauce. I was going to add some corn, too, but completely forgot! Oh well... next time :)
The only change I made to the cashew cream was to use a regular un-roasted jalapeno in place of the chipotle pepper.
The mole sauce recipe is from Recipezaar. I just change it by adding a little extra chocolate and using veggie broth in place of chicken broth.

Home-Made Enchilada Sauce

This is the sauce I make for DH’s enchiladas (and for mine when I don’t feel like making two different sauces!) It’s far better than the stuff you get in cans from the grocery store and really doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. You will need either an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor to make this, though.

The sauce itself is vegan so, even though I throw it on DH's chicken enchiladas, it's great to use with any veggie enchiladas, too.

Enough for 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1 (28-oz) can tomatoes, diced (make sure to add the juice, too!)
1 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. sea salt

Method:
1. Saute the onions over medium heat until they are softened. Add all the other ingredients and let the mixture come to a simmer then remove the pan from the heat.

2. Let the sauce cool for a little while then puree in a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender.

Reference:
Based on the "Enchilada Chile Sauce" that is part of the recipe "Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce" from Veganomicon.
My Changes:
*I use jalapenos for the "large green chiles." Mine are not roasted.
*I use both marjoram and Mexican oregano instead of one of the other.
That's it, really.. not a whole lot to change in that recipe. :)

Cheese and Vegetable Enchiladas

I love enchiladas and usually make them with chicken but since I gave up meat for Lent, I decided to try throwing together a vegetarian version. These were really good! I might just make these for myself from now on. :)

Makes 2-3 large enchiladas (depending on how much you stuff in the tortillas! They make good left-overs!)

**I didn't take a photo because, from the outside, they looked exactly like the chicken ones I made DH! (ooh, actually, these ones didn't have the cilantro on the top... other than that, they look exactly like the linked ones ;)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped (red or white)
1 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
3/8 tsp. dried parsley
1/8 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 of a fresh tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup black beans (I used the canned ones - drain and rinse)
1/4 cup corn kernels (I used frozen - just dump them in!)
1/8 cup black olives, sliced
1/8 cup bell peppers, diced
4 button mushrooms, chopped
3/4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
2-3 flour tortillas
1 tbsp. water

Method:
1. Heat oven the 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until tender. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, 1/4 cup of cheese, parsley, oregano, and black pepper. Stir until the cheese melts. Stir in canned and fresh tomato, black beans, bell peppers, olives, mushrooms, corn, jalapeno, water, and chili powder.

3. Roll even amounts of the mixture into the tortillas. Arrange in a baking dish. Cover enchiladas with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.