Home Grown Tomatoes: Enchilada Style

Enchilada Style Burritos

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column posted by Giovanina Bucci

I'm sore. I'm bruised.  I'm out of shape.  Thank you to this past weekend for contributing to all of these factors.  Nothing like 3 hours of sand volleyball on a beautiful, sunny Saturday to make you realize that you no longer have the skill, ability, agility, or speed that you had 10 years ago in high school.  Having played four years of volleyball, I always mistakenly assume that it's going to be like getting on a bike again.  Well, it's not.  

I found myself constantly winded, having to serve underhand, and more times than not, completely surprised to find the ball going in the 100% opposite direction than planned.  Awesome.  I guess it's part of growing up - along with being able to sip on a cold beer during breaks instead of a Gatorade.  I'm okay with that.  It was a day well spent with great friends and lots of laughing, which I appreciate more than the (literal) bruises that I am still suffering from.  

Thank god, the weather is finally acting like spring again here in Flagstaff.  It snowed here last Wednesday and Thursday.  SNOWED!  Ugh.  Talk about a killjoy.  I must say though, Sunday was yet another completely gorgeous day that I was forced to enjoy from my office window.  Gross.  

On a positive note, before having to head into work for a few, Beau made his completely to die for Enchilada Style Burritos.  To. Die. For.  Once we sat down to eat late Sunday morning, I said to him "Beau, you know what is the worst part about this meal?  It has to end."  It's true.  It's one meal that I try to eat outrageously slow, just so that I can enjoy it for an extended period of time!

Serving Size: 4 Burritos

4 large sprouted tortilla shells

1 package tempeh

1 can kidney beans

1 package Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar cheese

1 jar enchilada or taco sauce

1 tsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos

2 Tbs. tomato paste

1/2 - 1 Tbs. garlic powder

crushed red pepper (to your liking)

1 yellow onion (optional)

jalapeno (optional)

salsa

spinach

1 bunch green onion

1 container Toffuti sour cream

extra virgin olive oil

water

Begin by preheating your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you are using an onion, dice it up and begin sauteing it on medium heat in olive oil.  Once the onion is translucent, crumble and add the tempeh, along with the tomato paste, garlic powder, Bragg's and crushed red pepper.  

While the onion and tempeh are cooking, add a couple Tbs of water every few minutes to loosen up the paste like texture you may be noticing.  After about 6 minutes, add beans, about a 1/3 C. of shredded cheese, and about a 1/4 C. of enchilada or taco sauce.  

The idea here is to use your own taste buds as measurements.  You can't really go wrong with these ingredients, so more cheese here or more enchilada sauce there is not going to ruin anything - it's completely up to you.  Once your cheese has melted down (which is only required for vegan cheese, you can skip this step if you are using regular cheese), all ingredients are mixed well, and you've given it a taste test, you can begin assembling your burritos.  

In a 9x13 baking dish douse it with a couple of tablespoons of both olive oil and enchilada sauce - this creates a coating for you to soak your tortilla shells in, while also coating the bottom of the dish to prevent any sticking.  Once you have coated one side of your tortilla shells, you can begin lining each uncoated side of the shell with spinach.  On top of the spinach goes the tempeh mixture, followed by (your desired measurements of) sour cream, salsa, chopped green onion, a touch more enchilada sauce and more grated cheese.  Roll each burrito up, top it with cheese and bake uncovered for about 20 minutes.  

To finish off, we top the burritos with sour cream, guacamole, green onion and a bit of Cholula hot sauce.  And then tell your taste buds they've been invited to a party.

This recipe does have a lot of flexibility, especially for those of you who are meat and/or cheese eaters.  You could easily replace the tempeh with any meat you desire, along with using regular cheese and sour cream instead of vegan versions.  The most important aspects of this recipe are to soak the tortilla shells, and to use lots of extras: salsa, guac, sour cream, cheese, etc.  I promise that you'll impress - and these burritos are huge, so four of them, along with a couple of side dishes could easily feed 6-8 people.

Enjoy!
~Giovanina