Is there anyone out there that doesn’t like Mexican food? I mean really! I feel like there’s a reason that every Taco Tuesday is celebrated with such enthusiasm and why Cinco de Mayo has turned into a way bigger deal here in the US than it is even in Mexico.

But, I digress, I think it’s just a given that everyone loves the food. Though oftentimes most Mexican food is naturally gluten-free, if you prefer to avoid grains, if you like to limit your corn and dairy, if you tend to avoid beans, or if you are mindful of where your meat comes from and how it is raised – it can leave very few options when dining out at traditional Mexican joints. A lettuce wrapped taco is good, but it’s just not the same. I pack my own plantain chips if we are going out for Mexican, but ya know – they are no tortilla chips.  So, of course, I am always looking for other ways to enjoy delicious, healthy Mexican food, grain-free and dairy-free, at home.

I was craving enchiladas recently and I thought it was time I created some, with my spin on it. You may remember I created and shared a tutorial on How-to Make Plantain Tortillas a while back and while I absolutely love them, I just wasn’t sure they would hold up in this recipe. So instead I turned to the Urban Poser’s amazing Cassava Flour Tortillas. These tortillas (made with cassava flour), they are serious business, chewy and flexy, they hold up incredible well and they aren’t too much work to make – once you get into the rhythm. They held up fantastically well in this recipe. No breaks and no splits. Clearly you can opt for any tortillas you’d like here, I just love that these allow for grain-free enchiladas.

I created this recipe, like many of my recipes, so you could easily tweak it to make it your own. The homemade red enchilada sauce is soo simple to make, but you can also opt for your own personal favorite homemade or store-bought enchilada sauce. You could even opt for a green sauce, making a homemade salsa verde (maybe adding a little thickener so it isn’t too watery). I opted for a simple zucchini and mushroom filling, but you could add meat or fish, or any other veggies you have on hand, cauliflower, peppers, asparagus -whatever. If you eat them, roasted corn or cooked black beans – some greens like spinach, kale or chard would also be great in the filling.

Finally, this delicious Roasted Hatch Chile Cashew Cream. I am using it here in place of dairy. It’s creamy and has a bit of a cheesy taste to it, and a little heat from the roasted hatch chiles. If you’d rather opt for cheese, sour cream or crema – go for it. If you are in the Long Beach area, join me tomorrow at 6pm at Whole Foods, where I will be cooking up four seasonal gluten-free, plant-strong recipes, including this Roasted Hatch Chile Cashew Cream.

These Grain-free Veggie Enchiladas with Roasted Hatch Chile Cashew Cream will now be on heavy rotation here in our house, as will those amazing cassava flour tortillas. I served these to Mark and as usual, I drilled him offering up at least 20 questions, “how’s it taste?”, “is the chew right on the tortillas”, “what do you think of the sauce”, “do you miss the meat and cheese”, “is the cashew cream bringing a cheese flavor” – and so on (and on and on). Mark, my meat, cheese and grain eating hubby, responded with “I honestly didn’t even think about meat or cheese until you said that, these are amazing!”. When we ate the leftovers on the second night (which by the way, the tortillas STILL held up, even in a second reheating) – he exclaimed “seriously Beth, these are THE best enchiladas I’ve ever had!”

Mic = dropped.

[print_this]Grain-free Veggie Enchiladas with Roasted Hatch Chile Cashew Cream
{gluten-free, paleo and vegan}

Zucchini and Mushroom Veggie Filling

•  1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 large portobello mushroom, diced
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoonground cumin powder
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• optional add-ins: roasted corn, black (or other) beans, spinach or other greens, other seasonal veggies like cauliflower, bell peppers, asparagus, etc.

Add onions and cook until translucent. Add zucchini and mushrooms. Cook 5-8 minutes. Stir occasionally until the veggies are tender and slightly brown. Add the garlic and cook another 2-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside. (if including greens, add them now and allow them to wilt)

Quick Red Enchilada Sauce

• 2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cassava flour (or other GF all-purpose flour)
• 8 ounces (1 cup) tomato paste
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar of your choice
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium-sized pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil to the pan. Whisk the flour into oil until combined. Then add the remaining ingredients, except the stock, to the pan. Whisk well to combine and slowly pour in the stock, whisking while you add it, to keep it from clumping. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until it is reduced and thick. Set aside.

 

Roasted Hatch Chile Cashew Cream

• 3 roasted mild hatch chiles, stems removed, peeled and de-seeded
• 1 cup raw organic cashews, soaked at least 4 hours
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
• 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Roast the hatch chiles. (See the above link on how-to roast them). I actually roast mine right on the grill, but you can also use your stove-top, oven or broiler. After the peppers have sat a bit, using your fingers, slide off the skin and remove the stem and seeds.

Blend roasted hatch chiles and all the remaining ingredients in a high powered blender (I suggest a vitamix or similar). Add more water slowly, if it’s too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Set aside.

NOTE: if you don’t have time to soak the cashews or if you forget, you can quick soak the raw cashews in boiling water for about 10 minutes, but the cashews will no longer be raw and it won’t necessarily break down all the enzyme inhibitors present naturally in nuts. Slow soaking also increases their digestibility. Read more here.

Assemble Enchiladas

• 8-10 Cassava Flour Tortillas (corn, flour or other tortillas of your choice)
• zucchini and mushroom filling (above)
• red enchilada sauce  (above)
• roasted hatch chile cashew cream  (above)
• chopped lettuce
• fresh cilantro
• thinly sliced red onions or scallions
• pickled jalapeños
• lime slices

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan (or similarly sized).

Spread a small amount of the enchilada sauce across the bottom of the lightly greased pan. Take each tortilla, spread a small amount of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of tortilla (about 1 tablespoon) and fill it with the veggie filling, roll up and place each snuggly next to each other in the dish. Seam side down.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes or so. Liberally, spoon some of the roasted hatch cashew cream on top (you will likely not use it all). Garnish with lettuce cilantro, onion slices, jalapeños. Squeeze a small amount of fresh lime juice over the whole thing.

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