Vegetarian enchiladas

I came home today after babysitting and the weather - 27°C in the shade - made me change the plans for tonight. Instead of the minced meat ready in the fridge, I took out minced quorn and I made vegetarian enchiladas. The minced meat is for a chillier day, today we want exotic food! 

I've made enchiladas before and posted them on the website too, but these are different: they're veggie in disguise and they're filled with a chili con carne sauce. It's the first time I've tried to make something with minced quorn, so it's a risk. I hoped the quorn wouldn't be too dry. To make sure, I made extra tomato-pepper sauce so that it would compensate a little.

Ingredients for 4:
- 6 tortillas
- 1 can (200 grams) sweet corn
- 1 can (300 grams) kidney beans
- 1 small can (150 grams) white beans in tomato sauce
- 150 grams minced quorn
- 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
- pepper and salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- olive oil
- tomato-pepper sauce (as in the enchilada recipe some time ago)
- 200 grams of cheddar: half for in the enchiladas, half for topping them

How to:
Make the tomato-pepper sauce first. Set aside.
Fry the chopped onion and the peppers in the olive oil. Add the quorn and the garlic to this and a little of the tomato sauce so that it gets some liquid. Stir from time to time until the peppers are tender. Spice the mixture with cumin, pepper, salt and oregano. 

Add the beans and the corn and stir quickly. Make sure the beans don't get crushed.
Set aside.
Take the tortillas and after making a small layer of cheese, spoon the chili mixture over 4 of them. 

Cut the remaining 2 in half and put each half on one of the other (filled) tortillas. Now flip the sides of the lower tortilla so that you have a large roll.
Put the rolls (open side down) in a greased oven tray. 
Cover the rolls with the sauce so that nothing remains uncovered. Scatter the rest of the cheese on top of them.
Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour at 200°C. The cheese should've gotten golden brown in colour and the excess liquid from the sauce should have evaporated.

the enchilada served with some left-over corn, tomatoes
and cilantro for extra veggies

The verdict? My sister liked it very much, she said she wouldn't have known it was meatless if I hadn't told her. The taste is good. The quorn is slightly dry, but that's also the case with 100% pure beef mince (because it lacks the fat), so if you're not used to the juicy pork mince you'll be just fine! :D

Buon apetito!

Chicken enchiladas with guacamole

After a long period of 'boerenkost' (my dad's favourite food: daily meat, vegetables and potatoes, can be translated as 'farmers' food') I felt it was time for something else. 
I'm a fan of all sorts of kitchens, especially spicy kitchens. Mexican is one of them. I love the use of cilantro, and the Mexican kitchen is full of it.

Today it's chicken enchiladas I'll make. It's my own adaptation of the dish so please don't blame me for messing with the recipe!

Ingredients for enchiladas (4):
- 4 large or 8 small tortillas
- 4 chicken fillets
- olive oil
- chicken herbs
- pepper and salt to taste
- chilli flakes or harissa to taste
- 2 cans of peeled tomatoes
- 2 large sweet red bell peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 250 grams grated cheddar
- hot chilli powder
- fresh cilantro for serving

How to:
Bring the peeled tomatoes, the chopped garlic, the chopped peppers and the herbs to a boil in a large pot. Let it all simmer for at least half an hour or until the flavours have combined and the peppers have become soft. Blend the sauce a little so that the largest chunks are gone.
Cut the chicken into small cubes and rub them in with some of the chicken herbs.
Heat a skillet and fry the chicken in some olive oil.
Now take a tortilla, dip one side of it in the sauce, fill it up with some of the chicken, another little bit of sauce,  a bit of the grated cheddar and - if you like it hot - some hot chilli powder.
Roll the tortilla up so that you get a large roll. Place it in a greased oven tray and cover the wrap with sauce and some cheddar.
You do this for each of the tortillas, until all ingredients are finished.
Put in a 200°C oven for about 45 minutes.
Before serving, sprinkle with some fresh cilantro for colour and extra taste.

Ingredients for guacamole (4):
- 2 avocados
- juice of 1 lime
- pepper and salt to taste
- 2 large tomatoes, peeled and deseeded
- 1 small onion
- handful of fresh cilantro
- tabasco (if you like it hot)

How to:
Cut the avocados in half. Take the stone out by putting a knife in the middle of it and pulling the knife with the stone on it out. Don't throw away the stones!
Use a spoon to take all the flesh out of the avocados. 
Mash the avocado with a fork.
Cut the garlic, tomatoes and the onion in very small pieces. Add them to the avocado.
Spice things up with lime juice, salt, pepper, tabasco and cilantro.
Put the stones of the avocados back in so that the nice green colour stays.

Sublime!