Green Chile Season Has Begun!

When I lived in New Mexico, green chile season was a great time of year. The days had started cooling off a bit after the summer monsoon season (which meant about 4 drops of rain every afternoon in July and August) and the smell of roasting green chiles was everywhere. This year I knew chile season had begun when Al's Aunt Jane called to tell us she had left us a freezer full of green chiles in Verdin, NM at Al's dad's house and asked when were we coming to get it. Until Al and Ross make that trip, I'll have to depend on Central Market. They had their green chile roasters out on Saturday so I bought a big bag full and made these wonderful enchiladas. I did put cheese in the boys' pan, but left mine fully vegan. So good and worth the effort and several dirty pans that result!

Green Chile Enchiladas

For sauce:
1 1/2 pound roasted green chile, peeled, de-seeded, and chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 T. olive or canola oil
2 T. flour
16 oz. vegetable broth
Salt to taste

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes; add chiles and saute for a few minutes more. Sprinkle mixture with flour, then stir in and let it cook a minute or so before adding broth. Stir well so there is no lumpy flour and add salt to taste. Let cook on very low heat for another 15 minutes or so. Add water if needed. You want the consistency of stew--not too runny and not too thick. Set aside.

For filling:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 onion, chopped
1 portabello mushroom, grilled and chopped
1/2 red pepper, grilled and chopped
1 T. olive or canola oil
Saute onion in oil for a few minutes. Add beans, mushroom, and red pepper. Cook for a minute or two more until warmed. Set aside.

Soften 18 or so corn tortillas by dipping briefly in hot oil. I usually do all of them at once and let them drain on paper towels. (I hate to be too specific about the number because it is going to depend on how fat you want your enchiladas and if you add cheese to each enchilada with the vegetable filling, you are going to get a bigger batch of enchiladas than if you just use vegan filling.). In 9 x 13 baking dish roll enchiladas by starting with tortilla and putting in desired amount of vegetable filling (and grated cheese if you want just vegetarian enchiladas). After all are rolled, pour green chile sauce over all. You can top with additional cheese if you are going the non vegan route and additional chopped onion if you are going either vegan or vegetarian. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes until bubbly.

Happy Chile Season!