For the love of Seitan

Black bean and mushroom enchiladas

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this recipe yet. I’ve made it 4 or 5 million times, and it comes out really nicely. Sometimes I substitute pinto beans or navy beans for the black beans, or I’ll do a combination of all three. Go hog-wild. One of these days I’m going to do this with porcini or chantarelle mushrooms for a fancier version. But so far, it’s just ordinary crimini mushrooms, which are delicious. You can use enchilada sauce with these for a more traditional dish, or try using mole sauce. This recipe makes about 11 or 12 enchiladas, so be forewarned – you’ll have yummy leftovers for at least a day or two. Also I highly recommend using tortillas that are a mixture of corn and flour; flour only gets too gummy with all the sauces, corn only tends to break easily when you’re forming the enchiladas. A tortilla made of corn and flour solves this hiccup nicely.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
2 – 3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups water
1 tsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp Earth Balance “butter”
12 tortillas
2 jars enchilada sauce (about 4 cups worth) or 4 cups mole sauce
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1.5 cups black beans (1 15oz can works well), pinto beans, navy beans, or any combination of the three
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro (optional)
Daiya shredded cheese (optional)

1. Combine flour, nutritional yeast, and salt in a bowl, mix well. Heat water in a sauce pan, then add the garlic and whisk in the flour/nutritional yeast/salt mixture. Heat on medium until bubbly and thick, then remove from heat. Add the Earth Balance in little chunks, and the mustard, and mix it well. Set aside about 1 cup of the “cheese” sauce, then put the rest into a large mixing bowl.

2. Saute onions in a cast-iron skillet until they’re just browning. Put in the large mixing bowl with the beans and cilantro. Heat the skillet again until it gets very, very hot. Add the mushrooms and sear them, shaking the pan every 15 – 20 seconds, until they get a crisp brown edge. You should be able to hear the mushrooms squealing. Add the mushrooms to the large mixing bowl, stir well.

3. Preheat oven to 350. Pour 1/2 cup of the enchilada or mole sauce into 2 large glass baking pans. Hold a tortilla in one hand, smear it with a bit of sauce, then spoon out about 1/8 – 1/4 cup of the bean mixture onto the tortilla. Roll it into a tube, place it in the pan so that the overlapping ends are on the bottom of the pan. Repeat for all the tortillas. Top with any remaining enchilada or mole sauce, then drizzle the reserved cup of “cheese” sauce over the top. You can also add a bit of Daiya shredded cheese on top if you like, or just leave it as is.

4. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, until the tortilla edges are just crisping. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes.

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