Vegan New Mexican Enchiladas

We don't go out for Mexican food much because there is always some kind of problem either with lard in the beans, chicken stock in the rice, or tiny bits of beef in my food.  But I was reminded how good Mexican food can be when my sister-in-law made what I like to call "stacked" enchiladas for my nephew's birthday party.  According to my brother, traditional New Mexican enchiladas are always stacked, and filled with only cheese.  Marilyn's were deliciously non traditional and included whole black beans and yellow squash.  She served them with Spanish rice and a salad with spicy dressing.

I had been meaning to make the vegan enchiladas I had at Local Harvest Cafe, so I decided to make a combination of those and Marilyn's.   Obviously you can make enchiladas out of anything you like, but here is what I made out of what I had in the house.  I think it turned out pretty well. 

 Ingredients:

• 10 Corn tortillas - organic if you avoid GMOs

• 1 Can refried beans - vegetarian

• 1 green bell pepper - sauteed - organic if you can - see The Dirty Dozen

• 1 onion - sauteed

• 1 sweet potato

• 3 T nutritional yeast

• Olive oil

• 2 cups of enchilada sauce or homemade tomato and hot pepper puree

• A few handfuls of fresh spinach

• 1 cup of shredded cheese - I used this vegan mozzarella because I wanted to test it on something other than pizza, on which it is not that great. 

First, to make the vegan "cheese" a la Local Harvest Cafe: Bake the sweet potato and allow to cool.  Peel and place in blender with nutritional yeast and a good splash of olive oil.  Blend until consistent.

Lightly oil the bottom of a baking dish and cover with a single layer of tortillas.  Next, spread the refried beans evenly over the tortillas.  Top beans with a layer of fresh spinach, followed by a layer of onions, followed by another layer of tortillas.  Now spread a layer of the sweet potato mixture evenly over tortillas and top with more spinach and a layer of peppers.  Finish with a final layer of tortillas and completely cover the top with enchilada sauce so every bit of tortilla is completely moistened.  Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese over the top and bake in 350 oven for 35-45 mins.  Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving as you would a lasagna.

I also served mine with Spanish rice and a salad of cabbage, avocado and lime juice.