One of the things I really miss about becoming a vegetarian is good ol’ Texas Tex-Mex food. Ground or shredded beef or pork, and chicken, (and things like menudo that you do not want to know what they are) are essential ingredients of Tex-Mex and it’s hard to just do refried beans (making sure to either make your own or find the ones without lard in them…lard is an essential ingredient of Tex-Mex, too, after all).
In the past week I’ve made two discoveries that bring one of my favorite food categories back to the forefront. One is vegetarian chorizo from HEB and the other I just invented tonight: vegetarian enchiladas. Now, you say, many restaurants have vegetarian enchiladas, and you’d be right. But these are ones that I invented and I can make at home and they made my mouth very happy. I made them deep-dish like my grandmother’s enchilada pie.
I’m guessing on the amounts, because I had to work with what I had, so these are approximations for three layers in a 9×9 glass baking dish–your mileage may vary, as they say.
1 lb. white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 medium onion, diced to your choice
1 bag fresh baby spinach, chopped into a chiffonade; divide into 3 equal portions
5-6 garlic cloves, finely diced–or the equivalent in a bottled, minced garlic, about 2 heaping tsp.
Salt, cumin, and chili powder
1 doz corn tortillas
1 lb of Colby longhorn or Colby jack cheese, grated (I was not picky about this, but if it matters to you, find a rennet-less brand)
1 can vegetarian enchilada sauce–I used Rosarita. My old time fave, Gebhardt’s, it turns out, has rendered beef fat in it.
1/4 cup vegetable oil
butter
1/3 cup red wine (I used Shiraz because it’s what I had.)
Optional: cilantro, cayenne, sour cream topping,, diced avocados (for a topping)
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.
Melt the butter in a large skillet, sauté the onions, garlic, and spices until soft. This would be the time to add the cilantro and/or cayenne, if you wanted them.
Add the mushrooms and a bit more butter. Cook the mushrooms for a few minutes, then add the wine, keep the mix moving and cook the mushrooms down until they are soft and well-coated in the onion-wine mix. I like my mushrooms cooked a bit more than I think a lot of people do–just remember that you don’t want them crunchy, but they will be in the oven for awhile, too. Just make sure the wine is cooked down…you might even want to add it to the onion mix before adding the mushrooms.
*With your fingers, coat the tortillas, one at a time, with the oil and tear them in roughly 2-inch pieces. Place one layer of the tortilla pieces in the bottom of the dish. Overlap the pieces and cover the bottom. Place one portion of the spinach on the tortillas in an even layer. Layer 1/3 of the mushroom/onion mix on top of the spinach.
Layer 1/3 of the grated cheese on the mushrooms, then pour 1/3 of the enchilada sauce on that.
Repeat from the * two more times and top with a bit more of the grated cheese.
Pop in the 400˚ oven for 15-20 until it’s bubbly on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool/set for 10-15 minutes. Cut and serve like lasagna and top with sour cream, fresh cilantro, and/or avocado, if you like.
Happy vegesaurus mouth!
