Vegan "Beef" Spicy Lentil + Sweet Potato Enchiladas w/ Mezcal Lime Corn, Homemade Salsa Verde, and Chipotle Crema
Difficulty: 3/5 (5 being hardest)
Spice Level: 1/3 (3 being spiciest)
Prep & Cook Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 9 enchiladas
The Challenge: Beef Enchiladas w/ Salsa Verde
Can you make beef enchiladas...vegan? Well not with the beef, but we can definitely make something EVEN BETTER.
For vegans, the enchilada drums up memories of melty cheese, meat filled tortillas, and definitely something we cannot eat. Today, we are going to crush those memories with an even better rendition. We start with lentils! The lentil is an amazing plant that has the texture similar to ground beef when cooked on the stove top with spices. We are going to take them to the next level by mixing them with roasted sweet potatoes + zucchini as well as a homemade salsa verde and chipotle aioli.
The other crucial part to these enchiladas is a specialty of mine - MEZCAL LIME CORN. This treat will make any dish so much better, and it is crucial to adding a depth to these enchiladas.
But the core of this dish is a play on ground beef - lentil taco meat. What really makes taco meat delicious is taco spices beyond anything else, and we can recreate that here. Cooking lentils and then mixing with the spice mixture below as well as cooking in a castiron pan will make them crumbly, soft, and OH SO DELICIOUS.
You can use these lentils in a number of dishes - tacos, salads, burgers, and so much more.
Finally, we top this masterpiece with a delicious chipotle aioli.
The flavors come together in this dish in an amazing explosion of flavors. From the chipotle aioli to lime corn to texture of sweet potatoes to lentil taco meat, its CRAZY GOOD. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Lentil Taco Meat
- 1 cup lentils
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tbl avocado oil
- 1/2 cup smoky tomato salsa
- 2 tbsp nutrtional yeast
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 small shallot, diced
- 1/2 tsp salt + black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp oregano,
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ginger, ground
Sweet Potato + Zucchini
- 1 medium sweet potato, cubed
- 1 yellow zucchini, diced
- salt + pepper
- 1 tbl avocado oil
Chipotle Crema
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (minced) + 2 tbl of adobo sauce
- 1/2 cup of vegan mayo
- 1 lime, juiced
- pinch or two of pepper
Mezcal Lime Corn
- 1 tbl vegan butter
- 2 corn cobs, decobbed
- 1 tbl mezcal
- 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp coriander
- salt + pepper
Tomatillo Salsa
- 1 tbl olive oil
- 1/2 large onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green pepper, roughly chopped
- 1/2 medium poblano pepper, roughly chopped
- 0.75 lbs of tomatillos, quartered
- 1/4 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 cups vegetable broth
Other
- yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
- cilantro, for topping
Equipment You'll Need:
Medium Sauce Pan . Cutting Board . Medium Slicing Knife . Castiron Pan . Silpat or Parchment Paper . Oven Pan . Mixing Bowls . Food Processor . Glass or Metal Casserole Pan . Medium Frying Pan
Before You Cook:
- Chop all ingredients
- Place broth in medium sauce pan with lentils and spcies, bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 15 minutes
- Preheat oven to 350F
1. Place chopped sweet potatoes and zucchini in a mixing bowl with oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in oven for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool when done.
2. In a castiron pan, place oil, shallots, and garlic. Heat over medium heat and cook for 6 minutes until shallots begin to become translucent.
3. Next place all spices for the taco meat into pan and cook for 30 seconds. finally add lentils, salsa, and nutritional yeast.
4. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-12 minutes until lentils are starting to break down.
5. In a medium frying pan, add oil and heat over medium heat. Add diced onions and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Next, add tomatillos, poblano, and green pepper to food processor. Blend until smooth.
7. Add salsa to pan with onions in it and saute over medium low heat until ready to bake enchiladas.
8. Finally, whisk together chipotles, lime juice, and vegan mayo for our crema. Now, we have all the ingredients ready. Warm your tortillas until soft and pliable. Place all ingredients on a table to create a small assembly line. Add a healthy spoonful of lentils, 2 thin strips of peppers, a spoonful of the corn, and spoonful of sweet potato mixture. Roll up and place in baking dish. When all are rolled (makes 9-10), smother with the homemade salsa verde and drizzle chipotle aioli over top. Bake in over for 12 minutes.
