Week 4: Kale Challenge - Kale and Black Bean Enchiladas with Kale Rice and Kale, Tempeh Bacon and Pepita Salad

This was always going to be an interesting challenge as I've never cooked with Kale before. It's not that common here in New Zealand, and as I learnt about veganism before LiveJournal was founded and don't own a single achingly hip vegan cookbook I haven't had much reason to become acquainted with it. I also pretty much made up the recipes as I went and was in a hurry so I don't have detailed recipes this week and will have to settle for a rough description of the process without quantities.

Kale and Black Bean Enchiladas

Filling:

• Onion
• Garlic
• Mushrooms
• Black Beans
• Curly Kale
• Cumin
• Basil
• Fresh Chipotle
• Ground Chipotle
• Cayenne Pepper
• Canned Tomatoes

1. Saute onion for a few minutes, then add garlic and saute for another minute.
2. Add roughly chopped mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are reduced.
3. Add cumin, basil, fresh and ground chipotle and cayenne pepper and cook for a minute.
4. Add tomatoes and kale, lower heat and cook until the tomatoes are reduced and the mixture is thick.

Enchilada Sauce:

• Onion
• Garlic
• Oregano
• Sugar
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Canned Tomatoes

1. Saute some onions and garlic.
2. Add tomatoes, oregano, sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook over a medium heat until thickened.

The recipe for Cashew Cheese Sauce can be found here.

To make the enchiladas:

1. Pour a little of the sauce on to the bottom of a baking dish.
2. Throw some of the kale and black bean mix on a soft tortilla, and roll the tortilla around the mix.
3. Put the tortilla and kale and black bean mix into the baking dish with the loose part of the tortilla facing down.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you run out of tortillas, kale and black bean mix or baking dish to fill.
5. Pour most of the enchilada sauce over the enchiliadas.
6. Bake at 200C/400F for about 30 minutes until things are looking cooked.

Chances are the enchiladas will look a bit rough after cooking, as below, but they're about to be slathered in sauces so it's no problem.

To serve:

Put a couple enchiladas on a plate, then top with some enchilada sauce, plenty of cashew cheese sauce and some avocados or guacamole.

Kale and Rice

I threw a cup of rice, 2 cups of kale and 1/2 a teaspoon each of cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and paprika into my rice cooker with some chicken style stock and let it do its thing.

Kale, Tempeh Bacon and Pepita Salad

The tempeh bacon was made by marinating thinly cut strips of tempeh in a mixture of wheat-free tamari, maple syrup, ground chipotle, paprika, cumin and liquid hickory smoke for a few hours and then pan frying them until they were starting to crisp. While they were cooking I also threw a handful of pepitas in the pan to toast them. Once the cooked parts were done I tore up some kale, sliced up some radishes and cut up some avocado. This was all tossed with a lime vinaigrette.