I guess my first few post are going to be about potatoes. Well, they’re in season and I’ve never really liked cooking them – maybe it’s because potatoes are considered a starch and my thoughts are “what’s in it that’s healthy– why should I eat them if they’re just starch?” Sorry, that’s the health nut in me talking .  I finally came to the realizations that you need a wide variety of fruits and veggies on your plate. They ALL have something great to offer. Mix & match! Try not to eat the same of anything every day. It’s easy to get into that kind of habit – be creative and eat more veggies (there are some pretty cool ones out there)!

Andre and I looked online at our CSA veggie box from Full Circle Farm, swapped out a few things and decided to keep the potatoes. I knew it’s time for me to fall in love with cooking potatoes especially since Andre has a deep love for root veggies and requests them all the time. Our veggie box really helps with eating an assortment of veggies & fruits. I strongly suggest joining a local CSA if you can. I promise it’s worth it . You are supporting a local farm and you’re supporting your health.

On to the recipe…

Let me start by saying “Wow, these are amazing”. Ok, I might say all recipes I post on this blog are “amazing” but honestly, they are .  These recipes are outstanding and I owe my new found desire (actually it’s kind of an obsession) to cook/bake to my favorite cookbook: “Veganomicon” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero. But I need to take a further step back and thank my gorgeous, inspiring, thoughtful sister in-law Melissa for giving Andre & I this cookbook a year ago for xmas (and a food processor which we’ll discuss later). It COMPLETELY changed my life. Thank you Melissa!!

I cannot stop trying recipes from this book – every single one of them is delicious! Most of the recipes I will blog about will be from this book. No, I’m not going to cook through the entire book in a year (although it might happen on accident ) but I will keep you up to date on which ones I’ve tried and how incredible they taste.  Someday I want to meet Isa & Terry and personally thank them for changing my life and awakening me to the world of cooking.

Is there a cookbook out there that inspired you to cook more? I hope so – cooking is the best way to learn about and take control of what is going into your body. And I find it’s a great way to relieve stress. As much as I enjoy the end result (tasty food!), I also really enjoy the process of cooking and preparing the meal even from going to the grocery store and picking out the ingredients. That’s me, the smiling girl in front of the organic veggies, happily smelling and surveying the ingredients I need for my latest dish! Next time you cook, take your time, breathe and enjoy your creative self!

Ok, let’s actually get to the recipe

 

Super Awesome Potato & Chard enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce

Adapted from “Veganomicon” pg 162 Potato & Kale enchiladas with roasted chile sauce

Chile Sauce:

3 tbs grapeseed oil
1 onion chopped small
3 lg green chiles (such as Anaheim or Italian style long green peppers), roasted, seeded, peeled (optional), and chopped small.
3 tsp chile powder
2 tsp ground cumin (or more – I love cumin!)
1 ½ tsp marjoram
1 28oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt

Potato & Chard Filling

1 lb potatoes (yukon gold or red – I used about 5 small red)
½ lb chard, washed, trimmed, and chopped finely (or you can use Kale like they do in Veganomicon )
3 tbs grapeseed oil
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp cumin
¼ c. veggie broth
3 tbs lime juice (or more to taste)
¼ c. toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) chopped coarsely, plus additional for garnish
2 tsp salt
12-14 corn tortillas (we had only 6 in our package so we made very thick. Next time I want to try making
thinner enchiladas with more tortillas)
1 avocado (optional for topping)

 

Preparing the Green Chilies

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Slice the green chiles down the middle, remove stem and scoop out all the seeds. Place the 6 halves in a glass baking dish and coat with olive oil (about 3 tbs).  Roast for 20-25 mins until skin is dark brown in spots. Cool peppers (remove skin if you want – I don’t) and chopped finely. Set aside.

Turn oven down to 375 degrees

Have a casserole dish ready (11 ½ by 7 ½ inches)

 

To Make the Sauce:

Sauté onions in oil for 5-6 mins until softened. Add remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer for 5 mins. Remove from heat & cool. Taste sauce and adjust salt if needed. Puree mixture until it’s a smooth consistency. I used my new immersion hand blender and it worked great!

To Make Filling:

Peel (I like to leave a little skin) & diced potatoes. Bring to a boil in a pot of water and cook 20 mins until tender. Drain and set aside.

Heat a large deep sauté pan over med-low heat. Toast the pumpkin seeds, flipping often for 4 mins. Remove from pan and coarsely chop when cooled.

Heat grapeseed oil over med-low heat in same large pan and sauté garlic until slightly brown (be careful not to burn).

Add chard, sprinkle with salt and raise heat to medium and stir. Partially cover the pot so the chard can wilt – 5 mins.

Remove lid and mix in potatoes, veggie stock, lime juice, pumpkin seeds & salt. Mash potatoes in with everything else until it’s well blended. Cook 4 mins. Add more lime juice if desired.

 

Enchilada Assembly Line

This is a fun process and it’s helpful to have a sidekick so grab a friend or a loved one and get messy!

1. Get your tortillas
2. Have a sauté pan ready on medium heat to heat your tortillas
3. Have a pie-baking dish filled with an inch of chili sauce.
4. Get a plate ready on which to do the tortilla filling/rolling
5. Get the potato mixture ready
6. Prepare the baking dish (11 ½ by 7 ½) with ½ cup of chili sauce coating the bottom

Here we go:

1. Heat tortilla in sauté pan 30 seconds on each side
2. Dip heated tortilla in chili sauce on both sides. Coat completely
3. Move chili dipped tortilla to a plate and fill with potato mixture down the center
4. Roll tortilla tight and move to baking dish.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until all your tortillas are filled. Make sure they are nice and tight next to each other in the baking pan.
6. Top with 1 c. of chili sauce (save some for later) and sprinkle extra toasted pumpkin seeds  and avocado

      7.   Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 25 mins.

      8.   Remove foil and bake for another 15 mins until the edges of the tortillas start poking out of the sauce.

      9.   Allow for a little cooling time, I know it will be hard but you don’t want to burn your mouth:)

    10.   Serve one at a time and top with remaining chili sauce & avocados & tofutti sour cream OR make the Sour Cilantro Cream on pg 118- I have not tried it yet but I’m POSITIVE it will be tasty! I’ll definitely make it next time I make this dish

 

This recipe is a little time consuming so it is best to make on a Saturday or Sunday evening. Allow yourself a few hours to prepare this dish and enjoy the process (and do lots of taste testing!). Plus, the benefit of making it on the weekend is you’ll have enchiladas for lunch all week – your coworkers will be super jealous! Reheat or eat cold, it doesn’t matter – your taste buds will thank you again and again not matter what! Eat, breathe & be happy (and healthy ).