I am participating in Vegan Month of Food! That means I’ll be posting tons of vegan recipes this month.

I am focusing on vegan whole foods. I read In Defense of Food while Billy and I were on our honeymoon in Greece. I know it’s a strange reading choice for a vacation. Of course, reading a book about wholesome eating did not prevent me from eating tons of white bread and feta.

Eventually, Billy and I tired of the over-indulgence. We found a great vegetarian restaurant in Athens and ate our few remaining meals there.

Now that I am home, I am incorporating the ideas in the book into my eating habits. The main takeaway of In Defense of Food is, we should “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Heeding this advice, I am avoiding processed foods including anything with more than four ingredients.

I have ruled out a variety of my go-to meals, including my amazing enchiladas. The enchilada sauce I typically use has tons of strange unpronounceable ingredients. I searched for a sauce I could make from scratch, and found a great recipe in my Rick Bayless Mexican Everyday cookbook. The recipe is also available at Martha Stewart. Frontera Grill has long been one of my favorite restaurants and Mexican Everyday is a surprising vegetarian-friendly cookbook.

I made a few changes to vegan-ize the recipe. The tomatillo sauce was perfect, way better than the canned variety. It was surprisingly easy to make and didn’t require a ton of chopping (even vegetarians get tired of chopping). The enchilada filling was easy and delicious too, and I got to use up some fresh swiss chard from my garden.

Start by adding garlic, jalapeño, tomatillo and cilantro in a food processor.

Heat some oil in a pan and add the sauce mixture.

Once the mixture thickens, add some vegetable broth.

Meanwhile, brown the mushrooms in a little oil.

Add the swiss chard and onion, and cook until softened.

By now, the sauce has reduced by half. (see the lines on the pan)

Roll the mushroom swiss chard filling into warmed tortillas and top with tomatillo salsa.

Swiss Chard and Cremini Mushroom Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce
Adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeño, quartered (I used two since the jalapeños from my garden are really small)
• 1.5 pounds tomatillos (about 12), husked, rinsed, and quartered
• 3/4 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups vegetable broth

Filling (you can use whatever vegetables or beans you have)

• 8 ounces cremini (baby bella) mushrooms
• 1 large red onion, sliced (set some aside for a garnish if you’d like)
• 1 bunch swiss chard, roughly chopped
• Salt, to taste

Tortillas

• 12 corn tortillas

Directions

1. With the food processor running, add the garlic, jalapeño and tomatillos pieces one at a time, allowing each item to become well puréed.  Add cilantro and process until smooth.
2. Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the purée and stir frequently until the mixture thickens to the consistency of thick tomato sauce. Add the vegetable broth. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, In a large pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and allow to brown. Then add the onion and the swiss chard. Continue to cook until the swiss chard stems are tender. Season filling with salt.
4. Heat tortillas over an open flame so they are pliable. See this video for a how-to.
5. Check the consistency of the sauce. It should have reduced by half.
6. Spoon filling into tortillas. Arrange on a plate and top with tomatillo salsa and onion garnish if desired.

See all my vegan recipes →