Potato Kale Enchiladas With Roasted Chili Sauce

loveleesmile's Note:

A different take on the classic enchilada. We really enjoyed this. Hope you will try it.

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

For the Enchilada Chile Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion , cut into small dice
• 3 large green chilies , roasted, seeded, peeled (such as Anaheim or even Italian-style long green peppers)
• 6 teaspoons chili powder , preferably ancho
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon marjoram (epazote) or 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano (epazote)
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice (roasted preferred)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 teaspoons salt

For the Potato and Kale Filling

• 1 lb waxy potato (Yukon gold or red)
• ½ lb kale , washed, trimmed, and chopped finely
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves , minced
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ cup vegetable stock or ¼ cup water
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• ¼ cup toasted pepitas , chopped coarsely, plus additional for garnish (pumpkin seeds, page XX)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt (to taste)
• 12 -14 corn tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and have ready a shallow casserole dish, at least 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches.
2. Prepare the enchilada sauce first: In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onions is oil for 4 to 7 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer, and remove from the heat. When the mixture has cooled enough, taste and adjust the salt if necessary. Puree with an immersion or regular blender until the mixture is smooth and even.
3. Prepare the filling: Peel and diced the potatoes, then boil them until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Cook the grapeseed oil and minced garlic in a saucepot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the garlic is sizzling and slightly browned (be careful not to let it burn). Add the kale, sprinkle with a little salt, and raise the heat to medium, stirring constantly to cover the kale with the oil and garlic. Partially cover the pot to steam the kale until it has wilted, 4 to 6 minutes.
4. Remove the lid and mix in the potatoes, vegetable stock, lime juice, pumpkin seeds, and salt. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash some of the potatoes. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until the stock is absorbed. Add more salt or lime juice to taste.
5. Create an enchilada assembly line: Have ready a pie plate filled with about 3⁄4 cup of enchilada sauce, a casserole dish, a stack of corn tortillas, a lightly greased, heated griddle or cast-iron pan (for softening the tortillas), and the potato and kale filling.
6. Ladle a little bit of the enchilada sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish and spread it around. Take a corn tortilla, place it on the heated griddle for 30 seconds, then flip it over and heat until the tortilla has become soft and pliable. Drop the softened tortilla into the pie plate filled with sauce; allow it to get completely covered in sauce, flip it over, and coat the other side.
7. Now, place the tortilla either in the casserole dish (the easiest way) or on an additional plate. Layer it with another heated, sauce-covered tortilla or just use one per enchilada; either way, run the potato filling down the middle and roll it up. Continue with rest of tortillas, tightly packing enchiladas next to each other.
8. Pour about a cup of sauce over the top (reserving some for later), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until edges of the tortillas poking out of sauce look just a little browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Top individual servings with any remaining enchilada sauce, warmed slightly.

Reviews

[averybird]

This recipe is excellent- however it will dirty many dishes and you can streamline the recipe in a few ways. First- either make the enchilada sauce ahead of time or use a can of sauce from the store. Second- in my view the corn tortillas do not need to be heated first in a pan before adding the filling- they will be bendy enough on their own (or microwave them per danaskully64 below). Mine did break up a bit but unless you are worried about perfection, it's not a big deal. Finally- use red potatoes & leave the skins on (no peeling). Great recipe- loved the pepitas sprinkled on top especially. I served mine with sour cream but I believe Veganomicon also has a recipe for Tofu Cilantro Cream (or similar) for vegans. Thanks!

[EmilyStrikesAgain]

This recipe is fantastic! My girlfriend made these from Veganomicon the other night and we devoured them. I agree, the servings are closer to 6. My GF said it wasn't "hard" to make but it did a good job of making her use every single pot and pan in our house. We thought these would make excellent tacos as well (the filling and sauce) in case you want to save a step.

[danakscully64]

This recipe comes from Veganomicon and it's definitely my favorite from the entire cookbook. I sit and write this review as I'm eating it for breakfast. The flavor combination is really good and the fresh ingredients make for a rather healthy meal, as long as you don't mind the high salt content (I usually cut the salt in half). The recipe here says it takes only an hour, but you're looking at at least an hour and 45 mins total, as the chili peppers take 30 minutes to roast and the sauce takes about 25 minutes (after you dice the onion, peppers, add ingredients, puree, and cool it). I usually prepare the chilies and sauce in the morning or day before so I can have dinner ready in an hour from the time I get home from work. A trick I learned was when you're ready to fill your enchiladas, warm the tortillas in the microwave and add some sauce to the kale/potato mix, this way, you don't have to dip the tortilla in the sauce, you can just fill them, then top the entire batch with sauce at once, MUCH cleaner and easier way. One last thing, this recipe serves closer to 6.