This enchilada pie was inspired by those little magazine cookbooks that you see at the store checkout counter. The recipes often call for lots of cheese or cans of cream soups to give flavour. This recipe skips the cheese and fat in a traditional pie crust and instead uses homemade cashew spread and whole wheat tortillas to do the same thing.
I used seitan that I’d made previously and frozen, but it can also be purchased already made.
The tortillas don’t contain much fat, so taco sauce spread in the bottom of the pie plate and over the top crust helps to keep it from drying out and sticking to the pie plate. Garnish it with avocado slices, or if you prefer, sliced tomatoes, Pico De Gallo – whatever makes your family happy. Serve it with a fresh salad or cut vegetables.
This enchilada pie was such a hit in my house that we had it for supper twice in the week that I first made it. The first was made with fresh tomatoes and the second with canned tomatoes. Fresh has a slight flavour advantage over canned, but both turned out very well.
Heavenly Layered Enchilada Pie
Ingredients
¼ cup vegetable stock (vegetable broth or vegetable bouillon) - for sautéing
2 pounds ground turkey (minced turkey)
1 small yellow onion - diced
1 clove garlic - minced- 6 ounces seitan
1 pound tomatoes - fresh- 127 ml green chillies - chopped
200 ml black olives - drained and sliced
¾ teaspoon chili powder (chilli powder in British English)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
Pinch cayenne pepper - dried- ¼ cup cashew butter
3 10-inch flour tortillas - whole-grain- 6 tablespoons enchilada sauce - divided
1 large avocado - sliced – for garnish
Instructions
Cooking Instructions
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, put 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth or water and sauté onions and garlic until softened for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add turkey and allow to brown.
- Add the seitan or tempeh and stir-fry for an additional 3 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes, chillies, olives, chilli powder, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Cook until the tomatoes start to break down, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add the cashew spread, stir to combine and remove from the heat.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pie Instructions
- Spread 3 tablespoons of taco sauce in the bottom of a 9-inch deep pie plate (this is to prevent the tortillas crust from drying out or sticking to the plate).
- Place a tortilla at the bottom of the plate and press down to form a bottom crust.
- Add half of the filling to the pie plate and spread evenly.
- Cut 1 tortilla into 4 pieces and overlap to cover the filling in the plate. Add the second half of the filling and spread evenly.
- Cut the last tortilla into four pieces and overlap to cover the filling. Spread 3 tablespoons of taco sauce over the tortilla to coat it completely.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow cooling for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with avocado slices, if desired.
