food comas

I may be a little late to the kale craze, but keep in mind, I have been living in Asia for the last few years!  The whole “organic” and “farm-to-table” concept in Asia seemed to only really take off maybe three years ago.  When I first moved to Hong Kong in 2014, there were only a couple organic food and vegetable-focused cafés, namely Life Café and Mana! (both founded by the same person Bobsy Gaia).  However, by the time I left in 2016, the boom was really kicking off.  There seemed to be boutique organic grocers on every street corner and every new trendy restaurant was promoting locally-farmed produce from the New Territories.

Still, Hong Kong is a bit behind on going full-scale kale crazy, primarily due to difficulty sourcing.  Kale is extremely hard to find in Hong Kong, unless you want the Chinese version, a.k.a “gai-lan”.  Initially, I could only find curly kale at a high end Western grocery store that resided in a luxury mall next to the likes of Louis Vuitton (and was priced similarly).  As more organic grocers started popping up, it was definitely easier to find kale, but the selection rarely went beyond curly or red kale.  Forget about the mother-of-them-all and my absolute favorite: dinosaur kale!

So when I recently walked into a California grocery store, my eyes nearly popped out of my head at the sheer number of colorful kale varieties.  I bought every single type and binged on raw kale salads for months.  Eventually, I started to explore into some non-salad recipes and this Mushroom, Kale, and Quinoa Enchilada recipe from Food52.com has been my absolute MVP thus far!

The recipe was advertised as a “wintry” type meal, but I am more than happy to make this in any season.  The enchiladas are bursting with rich flavors, and makes for a healthy and hearty main dish.  For me to be full on a vegetarian main is kind of a big deal!

I tweaked the original recipe a little bit as per the original reviews by doubling the enchilada sauce, and also amping up the spice level with more chili powder and adding Sriracha.  I also opted for less of a tortilla-to-filling ratio and I used 6 tortillas instead of 10, hence my dish looking more like a row of burritos than enchiladas!

I have served these enchiladas with my go-to burrito sides: Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, and Apple Cider Slaw.

Mushroom, Kale, and Quinoa Enchiladas (recipe adapted from Food52.com)

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 C onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 tsp Sriracha
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
• 2 x 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp maple syrup (I used honey)
• 1/2 C water (or as needed)
• sea salt to taste

Kale, Mushroom, and Quinoa Enchiladas

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 3/4 lb baby bellow or button mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 cup diced green chiles (I used 2 thai chiles)
• 3 C kale, chopped (frozen packages work just fine)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• sea salt to taste
• 1 1/2 C cooked black beans (I used a 15 oz can of black beans)
• 1 1/2 C cooked quinoa
• 10 x 6″ whole wheat or corn tortillas (I only used 6)
• 1/2 C chopped cilantro

Directions:

To make the enchilada sauce, heat olive oil in a medium skillet or pot.  Sauté onion for three minutes.  Add garlic and continue cooking for another five minutes, or until onions are translucent.

Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, tomatoes, Sriracha, and maple syrup (or honey). Add sea salt to taste.

Transfer sauce to a blender or food processor, and blend until it is smooth.  Add water to adjust the consistency as you wish and then set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).

In a large pot over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp olive oil.  Sauté onion and garlic until onion is translucent.  Add mushrooms and cook until liquid has been released and evaporated.

Add the chilis to the pot and give them a stir.  Add the kale and allow it to wilt slightly. Add the cumin, sea salt, black beans and quinoa, and mix well until everything is completely warm.

In the bottom of a casserole dish, spread a thin layer of the enchilada sauce.

Place about a quarter cup mushroom and quinoa mixture in the center of a tortilla.  Roll the tortilla up and place it into the dish.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas.  Cover them all with a layer of enchilada sauce and bake for 25 minutes.

Top the enchiladas with chopped cilantro before serving.  Dig in!