Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole

Make One for the Oven, One for the Freezer

The Recipe: What happens when you layer roasted fresh veggies, salsa verde, corn tortillas and spinach with a little cheese? For the poetic, call it pure deliciousness. For the technical, call it de-constructed enchiladas. Either way, you'll be happy to call it for "supper", one for now, another for the freezer.
This is the latest "master recipe" for vegetables, a great choice for a fridge or garden full of vegetables.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

Here's a Quibble With Vegetable Recipes

I have a beef, ahem, with vegetable recipes. Not the quick all-vegetable side dishes. Not the vegetable soups. Not the big vegetable salads.

No, my beef is with the recipes where vegetables are “supposed” to be the star but then show up in small volume.

So I’ve been working on master vegetable recipes that use a lot of vegetables at one time, not a measly half cup split six ways. Remember the Master Recipe for Homemade Vegetable Soup? That was the first Master Recipe and I’m proud that people really love it.

My goal is to offer master recipes considered godsends by people who collect random vegetables in their refrigerators, also by gardeners, CSA members and farmers market shoppers. If you love fresh veggies? I hope you’ll love this recipe too.

Now I’ll Be Honest With You.

When I first made Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole a year ago, I decided against sharing it. Why? Because it really does take some time to prep all the vegetables – nothing hard, mind you, just that washing and trimming and chopping vegetables takes time.

But then we tasted it! Two hungry men (one a vegetable lover, one who sniffs at vegetables with disdain) both devoured this casserole! So did I! So good!

And two weeks later, when I pulled the second casserole out of the freezer and it had held so well?

All of a sudden, the effort seemed worth it and for me, it’s a recipe that’s always out there, saying, “Make me! A little work yes, but remember how good I taste?”

Reasons to Love This New Master Recipe

• Flavor and satisfaction at the table – it’s filling
• Good looks in a messy-plate casserole-ish sort of way
• LOTS of vegetables, your choice based on what’s in season, what’s on hand, what appeals
• Otherwise easy-to-find pantry vegetables and ingredients
• Lots of variability, not just with the vegetable choices but with the spices and salsa and cheese and even the tortillas

An Around-the-World Master Recipe?

Could you turn this into an around-the-world master recipe? Yes!

A Greek version would use fennel, zucchini, eggplant and feta cheese. An Italian version would use Italian seasoning, Mediterranean-style vegetables and romano cheese. Get the itinerary?

Travel well!

TAKE CARE WITH NEWER PYREX AND ANCHOR GLASS PRODUCTS

For two casseroles, one for the now and one for the freezer, I use two Pyrex rectangles, the six-cup ones easily found at Target, Walmart, etc. Newer Pyrex and Anchor glass products should be handled carefully, especially with temperature changes. YIKES, people!

Want more information? I did!

• What Pyrex says, here. (Please be aware that Pyrex keeps changing the online location of this information, breaking the link. Accidental? Methinks not.)
• Pay special attention to this warning. The capital letters are theirs, not mine. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE WARNINGS BELOW MAY RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, OR MAY CAUSE YOUR GLASSWARE TO BREAK OR SHATTER IMMEDIATELY OR LATER.
• What the Today Show said in December 2012, here.
• What Snopes says about emails that are circulating, here.
• Results of Consumer Reports’ January 2011 testing, here.
• Experiences of other home cooks, here.

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MASTER RECIPE: ROASTED VEGGIE ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Hands-on time: 45 minutes (30min vegetables, 15min assemble)
Oven time: 60 - 90 minutes (30–45min for vegetables, 30–45min for casserole)
Time to table: 2 to 2-1/2 hours
Makes one 9x9 or 11x7 casserole ~or~ two 6x7 casseroles,
about 12 main dish servings

ROASTED VEGETABLES
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 poblano chile, cut into matchsticks
• 1 red pepper, cut into matchsticks
• 1 green pepper, cut into matchsticks
• 10 cups (about 2 pounds after trimming) more vegetables, cut small, such as:
• Sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• Fennel, chopped
• Turnip, chopped
• Eggplant, skin on, chopped
• Cauliflower, cut into small florets
• Corn, off the cob

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Generous salt & pepper

SALSA
• 16 ounces (2 cups) salsa verde or another salsa (I use mild)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

LAYERS
• Corn tortillas, sliced or torn (I use 4 small tortillas)
• Protein, optional (I’ve used cooked chicken, rinsed and drained black beans, cooked shrimp, etc.)
• Fresh spinach leaves or chard leaves, heavy stems discarded, cut in ribbons (I use about 3 ounces)
• 2 cups grated Mexican-style cheese (I use cotija and queso Chihuahua)

FOR GARNISH
• Sour cream
• Chopped cilantro

ROASTED VEGETABLES Heat oven to 425F/220C. In a large bowl, combine the onion, poblano, peppers and 2 pounds of chopped vegetables. Add the oil, cumin, garlic and salt and pepper. With your hands, stir the vegetables to coat with oil and spices, working really well to distribute. Spread the veggies across one or two rimmed baking sheets and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until soft and beginning to brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. The vegetables may be roasted ahead of time for assembly within a day or two. If baking the Enchilada Casserole right away, leave the oven on.

SALSA In a bowl, stir together the salsa and cilantro.

LAYERS Set up an assembly line to build the layers in one 9x9 or one 11x7 or two 6x7 oven-safe casserole dishes.

Layer 1 – Salsa

Layer 2 – Corn tortillas

Layer 3 – Roasted vegetables

Layer 4 – Protein

Layer 5 – Spinach

Layer 6 – Cheese

Repeat the layers three times for a 9x9 casserole or two times for two 6x7 casseroles, occasionally compressing the layers with your hands. Cover with foil.

BAKE RIGHT AWAY Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

TO SERVE Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cut into servings for plates or serve tableside with a spoon. Serve with fresh cilantro and sour cream.

TO BAKE LATER Refrigerate but bring dish to room temperature for about an hour before baking. Heat oven to 425F/220. Bake for 45 minutes or until heated clear through. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese begins to brown.

FREEZE TO BAKE LATER Cover tightly, removing as much air as possible from the container. Freeze for up to about 2 months. Thaw before baking.

LEFTOVERS Leftovers re-warm beautifully! I especially like a small square topped with a poached egg for breakfast or breakfast-as-supper.

ALANNA’s TIPS The vegetables will roast more quickly if spread across two baking sheets. No rimmed baking sheet? Use foil to fashion makeshift sides on a cookie sheet, folding the four edges up to contain the vegetables while they roast. Make sure all the vegetables are fully cooked through when roasting. It helps to save a little bit of extra cheese for the last layer. I’ve been using the new Reynolds foil which is non-stick on one side, it works beautifully, releasing even the cheesy last layer. After roasting the vegetables, could you save time and dishes by just mixing all the ingredients together in one big jumble? Yes I think so!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving, assumes 12 servings, 8 ounces chicken, 8 ounces black beans: 212 Calories; 18g Tot Fat; 4g Sat Fat; 33mg Cholesterol; 718mg Sodium; 22g Carb; 5g Fiber; 5g Sugar; 11g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 5 & Points Plus 8 & SmartPoints 7 & Freestyle 5. This recipe has been "Alanna-sized".

This is one of those recipes that gets around! My inspiration came from The Sweets Life, who was inspired by Perry's Plate who was inspired by a cookbook long on my wish list, The Roasted Vegetable by Andrea Chesman. DISCLOSURE My Disclosure Promise

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Step-by-Step Recipe
Nothing Hard, It Just Takes a Little Time

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This Week, Across the Years

Winter Fruit Salad Spring Stuffing Plant Sale Soup Caper Chops with Curried Carrots Chocolate Malt Ice Cream Old-Fashioned Black Walnut Chocolate Cake Sweet Potato Salad with Roasted Poblano, Roasted Corn & Chipotle A Hundred Mile Dinner for the Incurable Epicureans in St. Louis Brown Sugar Lemon Curd Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole Almost-Chewy Creamy Oatmeal Greek Baked Beans (Gigantes Plaki) DIY Herb Blend for Herb Bread

This Week, Elsewhere

Asparagus Soup from Magpie's Restaurant
~ more St. Louis Restaurant Recipes ~
My Column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Artichoke Recipes - Alphabet of Vegetables
~ more Recent Recipes ~
A Veggie Venture

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More Mexican-Style Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)

~ more Mexican recipes ~

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ poblano peppers ~
~ bell peppers ~
~ sweet potato ~
~ turnip ~
~ eggplant ~
~ cauliflower ~
~ corn ~
~ spinach ~
~ cheese ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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