Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

I've made enchilada casserole before. I've even blogged the recipe, without pictures. But friends—I've never made a vegetarian enchilada casserole like this. This... is... so... good.

The filling is made of black beans, refried beans, Quorn grounds (non-soy fake meat!), black olives, white onion and a jalapeno sauce. My mouth literally watered writing that.

You're going to build this like a lasagna, but with non-fried corn tortillas instead of pasta. To let you in on a little secret: this is even better if you fry the tortillas in a little vegetable oil first. But after spending nearly a week off-skates, I was feeling quite hippo-like and wanted to make this as healthy as possible.

Usually I pour some sauce into the bottom of the pan, but I forgot this time. It seems to work either way. I'd recommend spraying your pan. I also forgot that.

Then spread in half of the filling. Obviously you could use hamburger if you'd like. But I recommend trying Quorn as a meat substitute or just leaving it out completely for an occasional meat-free meal. If you left out the cheese or used a vegan cheese substitute, this could be vegan! I would not leave out the cheese entirely, but that may just be me.

Repeat the tortillas, meat filling, and more tortillas. Finish with a tiny can of enchilada sauce, preferably El Pato. I used a little sharp white cheddar over the top and baked at 350ish until it looked like this.

Looks like lasagna, doesn't it?

I like 9x13 glass pans that have corresponding lids. That means I can eat some, let the rest cool, throw on a lid, and pop the whole thing in the fridge for leftovers. This also saves Mr. CookingOnSkates from washing quite so much Tupperware.

This really served up nicely! It's lower-fat and higher-protein than my previous version. I'd serve this to just about any guests, and it makes a great practice-day lunch. There's enough beans that I wouldn't recommend eating it for dinner the night of a derby practice.

Better Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole
(serves 6)

1 can unseasoned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can vegetarian refried beans
1/2 bag Quorn grounds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1/2 package uncooked corn tortillas, cut in halves
1 small can El Pato jalapeno sauce (the green one)
1 small can El Pato salsa de chile fresco (the yellow one)
1 small can sliced black olives
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Thaw Quorn grounds in large skillet with oil. Add onion, black beans, refried beans, olives and jalapeno sauce.
3. Make a bottom layer of tortillas. Spread half of the filling on top of the tortillas. Repeat tortillas, filling and a final layer of tortillas.
4. Cover with salsa de chile fresco. Finish with grated cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese starts to brown, about 30-40 minutes.