Vegan Chilaquiles

I have to be honest, until today I have never actually eaten chilaquiles. But. this is one of Chris most loved food items. He’s always reminiscing about different chilaquiles he’s had in different parts of the world (mostly California and Mexico). So when my friend Danny Garcia gave me some of his fresh made tortillas, I knew what I needed to do. Chris gave this a 10/10 score, but keep in mind this is my no meals authentic. For one, it’s vegan and I took a few shortcuts—making this super easy to whip up any weekend morning. Let me know what you think!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups salsa or hot sauce

12 fresh corn tortillas

canola oil for frying tortillas (or use store bought tortilla chips?)

vegan sour cream (or make your own with cashews?)

2 stems green onions, sliced

1/2 red onion, diced

small handful of cilantro, rough chopped

TOFU SCRAMBLE

1/2 block firm tofu

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 black pepper

BLACK BEANS

1 can black beans

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp miso paste or veg boullion

1/2 - 1 cup water

Let’s start with the beans as we can set them and forget them. Rinse and drain the beans, add to a small pot with remaining ingredients and cover with water by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil then let simmer until most of the water is evaporated (30 min). Set aside.

Now let’s fry up the tortillas! You can totally buy tortilla chips, but these were soo good! Highly recommend. Add a couple cups of oil to a medium size pot (you want 2-3 inches of oil). Turn the heat to medium-low and let heat up for about 5 min. You’ll know it’s hot enough if you add the tortilla in and it bubbles up. Cut the fresh tortillas into 6 triangles. Go ahead and add a single layer of tortilla triangles to the hot oil. After one min, flip the triangles over. After about 3 min or when the tortillas start to turn a little golden, remove with a slotted spoon/spider. Lay on paper napkin to remove any excess oil and add salt. Repeat until all triangles are cooked! Set aside.

Let’s make the tofu scramble—heat a medium fry pan on medium heat. No need to add oil. Crumble the tofu onto the pan and add about 1/2 cup of water. Add spices and combine. Once the water starts to bubble, turn heat down to low and let the water all cook off. Set that aside on low heat while you finish the final steps.

Sauce time!! Add salsa to a medium pan and bring to a bubbling simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low. Add anything else you want here—more salsa, some hot sauce, chilli powder. I threw in some Valentina hot sauce! Add a single layer of cooked tortilla chips and toss to coat in the sauce for 1 min. Quickly transfer to your serving bowls. Repeat until you’ve coated all tortillas. The magic spot is not too soggy, but not too crispy.

With the sauced up chips in your bowls, begin to layer the remaining ingredients! Top with tofu scramble, beans, sour cream, hot sauce, red onion, green onion, cilantro and any cheese you want! Serve it up and eat immediately!!