Meatless Monday – Tofu Chilaquiles

I first heard about chilaquiles when Teen took a middle school Foods class. His motivation to eat good food drives him into the kitchen to make it himself, which is where I found him one afternoon, frying chips and scrambling eggs. He topped oily-soggy chips with eggs and dumped green salsa over the whole thing – tasty if wet, and needed improvement.

My sister and Tween have a breakfast date now and again, and one time she brought home some leftover chilaquiles. Tween refuses eggs unless he’s with Sister and even then he won’t eat much. These tasted much better, and included enchilada sauce along with green salsa.

Enchilada sauce makes food yummy, but I’m not eating eggs these days so I decided to try a different take: tofu chilaquiles. You could use prepared enchilada sauce, but this sauce is easy and delish. It used to drive me nuts that I always had sauce leftover but not enough to make more enchiladas – now I have a perfect use for leftover sauce. You could use prepared tortilla chips, but if you have tortillas in the fridge, it takes very little effort to bake your own (true confession: I ate prepared chips with the leftovers). And I love to make salsa, but I have not mastered the art of making green salsa. Besides, Trader Joe’s green salsa makes me happy!

Enchilada Sauce

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp flour
2 heaping Tbsp chili powder
2 c veggie stock
10 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato sauce, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings.

Tortilla Chips

Stack 6-8 tortillas (I prefer corn but use what you’ve got) and cut in half; stack halves and cut in half again. Arrange on a baking tray and sprinkle with lime juice and salt or no-salt herb mix (optional, and I skip if chips are going in a recipe). Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned and crispy.

Tofu Chilaquiles
Serves 4-6
[the inspiration for the tofu portion of this recipe came from Happy Herbivore]

1 pound extra-firm tofu
1 white or yellow onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
12 oz salsa verde
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 c fresh or frozen corn, cooked
To serve: enchilada sauce and chips

Press tofu: drain package water, wrap tofu block in several layers of paper towels, place on a plate with another weighted plate on top. Let drain while you dice onion and drain beans.

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add onion, garlic and spices and cook until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add tofu and salsa verde and break the tofu into pieces (I used a potato masher). Continue to cook, stirring every so often, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add beans and corn, reduce to medium heat, and simmer until warmed through.

To serve, put corn chips in individual bowls and top with warm enchilada sauce. Spoon chilaquiles on top of chips. Serve with extra chips and hot sauce on the table.