Pinto Bean and Greens Enchilada Casserole

 From The No Meat Athlete Cookbook - Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes to Fuel Your Workouts - and the rest of your life.  By Matt Frazier and Stepfanie Romine   2017

I made this for Calvary during a nutrition series.  Great taste, but don't believe the 10 minute prep time.  It takes that long to tear the kale apart.  I used dino kale, which is supposed to be more hearty but a little sweeter and less bitter.  The whole dish came out great.  The queso is very good, with a bit of a kick. 

Photos - 6/19/24

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped

2 tsp Taco Seasoning (used Mexican blend)

3 cups cooked pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and black pepper

One 16-oz jar salsa

12 corn tortillas (only used ~4)

1/2 cup Cashew Queso (see below)

Diced avocado, black olives or cilantro optional

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 390 degrees.  Coat a 9x13" baking dish with the oil

2. Layer in the onion, kale, taco seasoning and beans.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour half the salsa evenly over the beans, layer on the tortillas and top with the remaining salsa and the cashew queso.

3 Cover with an inverted baking sheet and bake, about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the salsa is bubbly.

4. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.  Slice and serve with the avocado, olives and cilantro, if desired.

CASHEW QUESO:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for at least 10 minutes, then drained

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 garlic clove

1 GF chipotle chile in adobo sauce or 1 tsp chipotle chile powder or to taste

1 tsp arrowroot powder

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

3/4 cup water, plus more as needed

Salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Process the cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, chipotle, arrowroot powder, paprika and water in a high-speed blender until it is thick yet pourable.

2. Transfer to a medium saucepan and heat over medium until bubbly, adding additional water if necessary.  Season with salt and serve.  (The queso will thicken as it cools, but whisking in some water can help loosen it up.

3. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

For a milder Roaster Red Pepper Queso, substitute 1 roasted red bell pepper for the chipotle. 

Vegan Cauliflower Gratin

From Love and Lemons Every Day Cookbook  p 227

Here's a recipe for a 'creamy' cozy main dish casserole.  This time, I prepared this for the shelter, so I doubled the recipe, tripled the cashew sauce (although didn’t use all of it) and doubled the topping, and those proportions seemed good, with all of the following additions.  I added a sweet potato, spinach, mushrooms, and red onion.  Basically, I like color in my food, so I added whatever I had available.    I'll add more onions and black pepper next time to give it a kick, maybe some cayenne in the topping.  The doubled recipe fit in a 13 x 17” casserole. 

It would be reasonable to increase the sauce even for a single recipe, just to make sure it stays moist.  If all of the veggies are added, prepare double the recipe and save what you don’t need. Be sure to cover lightly with foil if the cauliflower is burning in some areas. 

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cauliflower - core and florets separated, per instructions

1-2 medium sweet potatoes (I microwaved it whole for a few minutes, then cut into ~3/4” dice)

Optional - 5 oz spinach, roughly chopped; 1 cup mushrooms sliced; carrots sliced and possibly microwaved a bit; anything else you like

 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in 3/4 cups water (include the water w/ cashews for the sauce)

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (~2 lemons)

1 yellow onions, thinly sliced (can use red onion too)

1 Tbsp miso paste

3 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (can use more)

3 Tbsp EVOO plus more for brushing

1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

TOPPING:

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup crushed pine nuts or hemp seeds (used hemp seeds)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley for topping 

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and brush a 9 x 13 baking dish (or larger if using all the veggies noted below) with olive oil

2) Break the cauliflower florets into small bite-sized pieces and set aside for later use.

3) Roughly chop the cauliflower cores.  Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil and boil the cores (NOT the florets) for 5 minutes or until fork-tender.  (I did this in the microwave for ~3 minutes).  Transfer to a blender with the cashews, water, lemon juice, miso paste, garlic, mustard, 2 Tbsp of the OO, the salt, and several grinds of black pepper.  Blend until creamy.

4) For the topping, in a small bowl, mix together the panko, pine nuts/ hemp seeds, and sea salt.  Set aside.

5) Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp OO in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and pinches of salt.  Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the caul florets and half the sauce.  Toss to combine and transfer to the baking dish.

6) Toss in the sweet potato and spinach if using.  Evenly pour the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with the panko mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is golden brown and tender.  If the topping browns first, cover loosely with aluminum foil.  

7) Top with the parsley and serve.