

Other than my main celebrity chef of choice Ina G., the only other TV chef I watch with any frequency is Rick Bayless. So I sourced one of his recipes from Food & Wine for the sauce here. I went all starch and black beans for the filling because it’s winter and fortifying with carbs just feels extra right these days. The cheesy pumpkin seed crumble gets dusted on top and has a bit of a dukkah/healthy Doritos vibe that I can’t get enough of. The lime cream follows my basic cashew sour cream method and just kind of lifts everything up. I put a lot of emphasis on the garnishes here because, let’s face it, enchiladas are almost always a hot mess/train wreck as soon as they hit the plate. Pretty it up if you feel like it :)



cozy vegan enchiladas w/ lime cream recipe

sauce recipe adapted from Rick Bayless for Food & Wine

print the recipe here!

serves: 4

notes: There’s no shame in buying enchilada sauce to streamline this meal a bit. I like the Frontera ones (Rick Bayless again, whoop!) and Trader Joe’s makes a decent version too. I use a high speed blender for the lime cream–I’m not sure how smooth a regular blender can get the cashews for this. A little more water might be necessary if that’s the case.

filling:

1 medium sweet potato, 1/2 inch dice

2 medium potatoes, 1/2 inch dice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground cumin, chili powder, coriander etc.

salt + pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

enchilada sauce:

1 jalapeño, stem removed

1 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 small white onion, diced

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (fire roasted is bomb here)

1 cup vegetable stock

salt + pepper

lime cream:

3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for 3 hours or more

juice and zest of 1 lime (about 1/4 cup juice)

splash of white wine vinegar

fat pinch of sea salt

1-2 tbsp filtered water

cheesy pumpkin seed crumble:

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp nutritional yeast

salt + pepper

etc:

12 small corn tortillas, warmed

diced ripe avocado

sliced green onions

chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment. Place the diced sweet potatoes and potatoes onto the sheet and toss with the olive oil, cumin, salt, and pepper to coat. Slide the tray into the oven and roast until pieces are soft and cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove the tray and lower the heat to 350 degrees F.

While vegetables are cooking, start the enchilada sauce. Char the whole jalapeño in a large dry pot over medium heat (preferably cast iron or something equally heavy-bottomed). Remove the jalapeño and set aside.

Add the oil to the pot, then the onions and garlic cloves. Stir and sauté until the onions are very soft. Scrape the onions and garlic into an upright blender. Add the charred jalapeño and diced tomatoes. Blend on high until totally smooth. Pour tomato mixture back into the pot. Add the vegetable stock and simmer sauce until the texture is slightly looser than tomato paste. The colour will have deepened as well. Remove sauce from the heat.

Make the lime cream: Rinse the blender pitcher and drain the cashews. Place the drained cashews in the bender along with the lime juice, lime zest, white wine vinegar, salt, and water. Blend on high until you have a creamy and smooth mixture. Scrape the lime cream into a container, cover and chill until you’re ready to serve it.

For the cheesy pumpkin crumble, combine the pumpkin seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, nutritional yeast and salt in a spice/coffee grinder/mini food processor/mortar and pestle. Grind until you have a lightly textured dust. Set aside.

Place the roasted vegetables in a bowl and re-use the parchment paper from the baking sheet for the enchiladas. An 8×11 inch pan that’s about 2 inches deep is good here. Ladle about a cup of sauce into the bottom of the pan.

Set up an assembly line from left to right: warm tortillas wrapped in a dish towel, a large dinner plate, the bowl of roasted vegetables, the black beans, the pumpkin seed mixture, and the parchment lined pan with sauce in the bottom.

Place a warm tortilla on the dinner plate, spoon about 1/4 cup of vegetables on top down the center of the tortilla. Add a spoonful of black beans and a fat pinch of pumpkin seed crumble on top. Carefully roll it up and place, seam side down, in the enchilada pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling ingredients.

Pour most of the remaining sauce over the enchiladas in the pan, spread it out, and slide the pan into the oven. Bake until enchiladas are piping hot all the way through, about 25 minutes. Serve the cozy vegan enchiladas hot with extra pumpkin seed crumble, lime cream, diced avocado, green onions, and cilantro.

