Poblano Tamales with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Welcome to Vegetarian Week!

All this week on the BMK you will see delicious and inventive vegetarian recipes from vegetarian food blogs and our own test kitchen! I know what you're thinking, but I swear vegetarian food doesn't have to be boring! Mapping out our menu required extra thought to conjure something exciting and new, and it all had to support our rigorous exercise regimens. We both train hard all week, and I'm training for a triathlon! Off we went, pedaling our beach-cruisers to the new Mother's Market to load up on various grains, legumes, organic produce, and seasonings.

Vegetarianism requires exploration into foods uncommon in the American diet: kale, sea vegetables, quinoa, wheatberries, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and seitan make excellent substitutions for the protein you lose when going vegetarian. It's more than just avoiding meat and eating iceberg lettuce salads! You can get all the vitamins, minerals, and protein your body needs from plant-based sources, but it takes education. As a nation, Americans have become lazy about our diets. We want convenience, little or no preparation, long shelf-life, and low cost. Any diet worth eating takes imagination, creativity, preparation, and forethought. This week is about super-clean, real, unprocessed, unpackaged, wholesome, nutritious food that happens to be meat-free.

This dish is incredible. You must make the homemade enchilada sauce. It's worth the little work that it takes and makes enough for a second meal (freeze for later)!

* This meal can be vegan if you omit the sour cream garnish!*

Recipe from The Chubby Vegetarian    Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
Enchilada Sauce:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 dried anaheim peppers (we used guajillo) stemmed & seeded
• 4 chipotle peppers (2-3 if you're sensitive to heat)
• 1-28oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp agave syrup

Poblano Tamales

• 1 cup hot water
• 1 not-beef bouillon cube
• 1 cup masa harina (masa flour)
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 ear corn, kernels removed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large poblano peppers (also called pasilla)
• sour cream and cilantro for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin with the enchilada sauce. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add dried chilies and toast in oil until translucent and fragrant. 
2. Add onion and cook 1-2 minutes.
3. Add chipotle peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and bell pepper.
4. Add enough water to cover the vegetables. Stir.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes.
6. Use an immersion blender to blend sauce until smooth. 
7. Add agave syrup, stir to mix.
8. Keep on low heat (freeze extra!)
9. In small bowl, dissolve bouillon cube in hot water. 
10. In another bowl, whisk shortening until it's fluffy.
11. In larger bowl, mix masa and baking powder. Add shortening and cut in with spatula or fork. Add broth. 
12. Mix gently, do not overwork!
13. Add corn, beans, onion, green pepper and garlic to masa and mix in.
14. Cut off the top of each poblano pepper and set aside, remove seeds and tap out any extra with your hand. 
15. Fill each pepper with masa-veggie mix. Pack it in as tight as possible, you want no air bubbles!
16. Pack filling into any holes in pepper tops. Place tops back on peppers and wrap tightly in foil.
17. Place a metal colander in a large soup pot with enough water (do not let water get into colander)!
18. Place foil wrapped poblanos in steamer. Steam for 1 hour.
19. Remove from pot. Preheat oven to 400'.
20. Unwrap peppers (just open the packets up) and place on baking sheet. Brush with a touch of olive oil. 
21. Bake for 10-15 minutes until peppers are slightly colored and wrinkled.
22. Serve with sauce, sour cream, and cilantro!

* Note: If you have more filling than peppers, you can pack a round ball onto a square of parchment paper. Fold the parchment paper over to form a "tube". Then twist the ends to make a pinched log. Twisting the ends compacts the tamale into a firm cylinder. Wrap in foil and steam/bake the same way!