Vegetarian Enchiladas

Lately I have been working towards eating less meat. A lot less meat. I don't feel like I want to go completely vegetarian, and certainly not vegan, because I love dairy, but I do believe the American diet is heavy on the meat. My body feels lighter when I eat less meat, but I can also say that a good reasonable portion of meat after a few days of vegging it, also makes me feel good. I am looking for balance.

My daughter complained bitterly about this the other night over our dinner of vegetarian enchiladas and rice. She wanted to know why we couldn't just eat regular food like other people. Which of course I thought was very funny, because really, what is regular food?

My feeling is that Americans eat a lot of processed foods. The largest sections of the grocery store are the isles and frozen food sections. Don't get me wrong, I shop in the isles too, but I really try to focus on the outskirts of the store, especially the produce section. So I guess this post isn't just about less meat, it is also about less processed food.

With that said, as I work to incorporate new meals into our diet, I am trying to focus on less processed foods and meat. One of the new stars on our menu is a vegetarian enchilada recipe that I found through Pinterest. The post links to a blog called Word of Wisdom Living, and gives a version of a Martha Stewart recipe. I, because I cannot seems to follow any recipe by the letter, have revised this recipe to meet my tastes. Although I have no issues with Martha's pantry version, it's still a good healthy choice, I find mine to be much more interesting.

Kohlrabi

One of the most interesting ingredients is kohlrabi. What the heck is that? Well as much as I like my veggies, and even though I feel like I at least heard or read the word before, I had no idea of what it was when it showed up in my CSA box this past fall. I decided that I would peel and cube it, then roast it in olive oil with salt and pepper and then use it to replace the corn in Martha's recipe. This is how I stumbled onto how wonderful this recipe is and how I learned that I love kohlrabi. of course, if kohlrabi is not your thing, you could easily substitute yellow squash or zucchini.  Any of the veggies in this recipe could be swapped out for something different.

Another note, this time about the the beans in this recipe, I start with dry great northern beans. You can used canned beans, either black, pinto, great northern, whatever you like, but I find that nothing beats soaking and cooking your own. It takes very little hands on time and if you do the whole bag you can keep the extras in the refrigerator for use in another, possibly vegetarian meal.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

Number of Servings: 7

Enchilada Sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup tomato paste
32 ounces organic vegetable broth
Salt and pepper

Enchiladas:
1 kohlrabi, peeled and cubed
1 Italian eggplant, peeled and cubed, slightly larger than the kohlrabi
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups fresh spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 cups Monterrey jack cheese, grated
2 cups great northern beans
3 green onions -- thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin -- ground
2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno pepper slices
14 each corn tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss the cubed eggplant and kohlrabi with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Spread cubes onto a large baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes until tender, rearranging midway through cooking time.

Make the sauce, this is directly from Martha Stewart's recipe "In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and add cumin, flour, and tomato paste. Cook 1 minute, whisking. Whisk in broth and ¾ cup water. Bring to boil and then simmer until slightly thickened (5-8 min.). Salt and pepper, then set aside."

Meanwhile steam spinach for 10 minutes and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Put the filling together in a large bowl. Combine beans, spinach, kohlrabi and eggplant, green onions, jalapeno slices, cumin, 3/4 of the cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the tortillas wrapped in a damp paper towel and warm 1-3 minutes in the microwave. (I have to say I am reconsidering this method of heating the tortillas, but right now this is how I am doing it.)

Fill each tortilla with filling, roll tightly, and arrange in a lightly oiled baking dish with the seam down.

Cover enchiladas with the sauce and top with remaining cheese.

Bake 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until sauce is bubbly.

Nutritional Analysis (from Mastercook): Per Serving : 640 Calories; 23g Fat (31.0% calories from fat); 28g Protein; 85g Carbohydrate; 18g Dietary Fiber; 30mg Cholesterol; 1242mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 5 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 3 1/2 Fat.