Santa Fe, New Mexico has a special place in my heart. My dad owns property down there, and it has become our little getaway over the past few years. Whenever I tell someone about Santa Fe, the food and the blue skies always dominate the conversation because i’ve never seen a more blue sky, and I’ve never eaten such incredible food.
If you are at all familiar with New Mexican food, you are well aware that it is very different from traditional Mexican cuisine. New Mexican food is influenced from the indigenous, Spanish and Mexican roots that make up the territory, and is easily distinguished from other Mexican and American cuisines due to its emphasis on New Mexican spices, herbs, and flavors; most notably the red and/or green New Mexico chile peppers.
Given the current circumstances, it’s been since August since I was last in Santa Fe. This makes me incredibly sad, but also hugely inspired to recreate the cuisine in a plant-based way, which brings me to today’s recipe, Green Chile Beyond Enchiladas.
To keep this plant based, I used Beyond ground beef, Siete green enchilada sauce, Siete tortillas, Daiya cheese shreds, and a vegan cashew cheese sauce to give it that creaminess that just completes it. The cheese sauce makes a pretty decent sized batch that would be perfect for nachos or whatever else you want to use it for. It will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for a few days, so feel free to get creative with the extra.
For times’ sake, I used jarred green chiles, but if you want to roast your own for more authentic flavor, you are welcome to. Just take 2 anaheim chiles and roast them over a burner until charred all over, set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the charred outside skin with your hands, and remove the inside seeds and stems. Dice them into small chunks and add them into your prepared Beyond Beef.
Okay, enough story time, let’s get into it.
Green Chile Beyond Enchiladas
Author: The Lean Clean Eating Machine
- 1 package of Beyond Ground Beef
- 1/2 small sweet onion; finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic; smashed and minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 jar Siete green enchilada sauce (or any green enchilada sauce you prefer- you need 15oz worth)
- 4 ounces jarred green chiles (store bought or roast your own as explained above)
- 2 packages Siete tortillas (I used them to keep them grain free, but you could use whatever gluten free tortillas you like)
- Daiya Cheddar shreds and Pepper Jack shreds mixed together
- Fresh cilantro, pico de gallo, diced avocado, hot sauce or vegan sour cream for toppings (optional)
Cashew Nacho Cheese:
- 1 cup raw cashews; soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drained
- 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric; optional for color
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- In a large frying pan, cook your Beyond Ground Beef with your prepared sweet onion according to package directions. This should take about 5 minutes. Add in your minced garlic and green chiles, and cook for an additional minute.
- When finished, season with cumin, chipotle powder and a pinch of salt, stirring to evenly coat. Add in 1/4 cup of your enchilada sauce and stir to thoroughly combine. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine your Daiya Cheddar and Pepper Jack shreds. Stir to mix.
- In a high speed blender, combine all of the ingredients for the Cashew Nacho Cheese, and blend on high until mixture is completely smooth. It will be very watery.
- In a medium saucepan, pour in the Cashew Nacho Cheese mixture and bring to boil on medium/high heat, stirring constantly until sauce thickens to desired thickness. When finished, remove sauce from heat and set aside.
- Assemble: Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with olive oil spray. Add about 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce to the bottom of baking dish, and spread to evenly coat.
- In a large pan, heat each tortilla up one at a time until soft, then add in the Daiya cheese shreds and a few spoonfuls of the meat mixture onto one side of tortilla. Starting on that side, roll the tortilla and place it seam side down into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, making sure to squeeze them in tightly next to one another until the entire baking dish is filled.
- When finished, cover top of the tortillas with remaining enchilada sauce, a couple of spoonfuls drizzled across the top of the Cashew Nacho Cheese Sauce, and a hearty topping of the mixed Daiya Shreds.
- Bake in the oven uncovered for 20-25 minutes. The cheese should bubbling and the edges of the tortillas should be golden.
- Remove when finished and top with cilantro. Serve with fresh pico de gallo, hot sauce and diced avocado if desired.