Mexican Lasagna

Today, a friend emailed me. She's going to try to add a vegan dinner to her cooking once a week for 2013 and asked if I had any good recipes (Hi Linda!!!).  I'm just about to email her back with the link to this blog.  I was going to point her to the Mexican Lasagna recipe, but I never put it up here.  I can't believe I don't have it here, but a search for both "mexican" and "lasagna" turned up NOTHING.

I may not have linked and put it up since my local vegan friend (Hi Patti!!!) and person I discuss cooking and most everything else with nearly every day already has the Mexican Lasagna recipe.  In fact, I think she made Mexican Lasagna before I did.

A fun diversion: here's a picture of Patti and I cooking... we cooked up a vegan storm on Christmas Eve and a post about our fun day and wonderful feast is coming soon.  (I just need a little less break time to get some work done!)

 

Back to the recipe.  Here's a link to where I got it (after Patti recommended it).  It is good.  I highly recommend getting the field roast Mexican Sausage if you can find it as it's GMO-free.  I am not sure that the Trader Joe's version is non-GMO.  I'm also not sure whether the TJ's roasted corn is GMO-free.  Note, you can roast your own in the oven very easily... (A bag of frozen corn, a little bit of oil, and 20-30 minutes on broil in the oven will do it nicely!)

What did I do differently with the recipe ('cause I always modify!)?  I think I used way more salsa than the recipe calls for, but other than that, I didn't diverge too much from the recipe... except I added kale to the layers... Ah, yes, it's all coming back to me now.  

I replaced one of the layers of tortillas with chopped kale (or you can use chopped spinach).  There's still plenty of tortilla goodness if you replace one of the layers of tortillas with a green leafy vegetable and it gets EVEN better for you.  

I think I might be starting to crave this and I may need to make it ASAP!  Here's the recipe copy and pasted from my Happy Healthy Friend's site:

Recipe was inspired by Kathy Hester's "The Vegan Slow Cooker"

For a copy of the recipe on one page, click here:

Preparation time:  10 minutes

Serves:  8 generous portions

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 large sweet potatoes (2 lbs), peeled, & thinly sliced (that's the only work you'll have to do) Tip: Parboil the sliced sweet potatoes ahead of time, until "just tender" to shorten the cooking time. Too Busy to Bother Tip: Use about 3 cans of Taylor's Canned Sweet Potatoes--vacuumed-packed, no sugar or syrup.
• 2 16 ounce jars of your favorite salsa (I used chipotle)--enough for almost 4 cups of sauce (I used over-priced Guy Fieri's Chipotle salsa & LOVED the flavor.  It does have canola oil in the ingredient list, but it lists as 0 fat, which means it's less than .5 a gram, & still unacceptable if you follow Esselstyn's diet strictly.  Just saying...)  More notes:  I do think my use of a well-seasoned chipotle salsa added to the great flavor of the lasagna.
• 8 ounces of Upton's Naturals Chorizo flavored seitan (substitute with 2 links of Field Roast Mexican Chipotle "sausage", or 8 ounces of Trader Joe's Soy (Gluten-free) Chorizo, or make your own with this recipe. (you can substitute tomato paste or more beans or broth for the oil)
• 1 package of Food for Life corn tortillas  (12 count)
• 1 can (15 ounce) black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 1/2 -2 cups of Trader Joe's Roasted Frozen Corn--about 1/2 of a package (can substitute regular frozen corn)

Preparation:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.  Pour 1/4 of the salsa (a scant cup) on the bottom of a 9 X 13" baking dish
3.  Cover the sauce with a single layer of the tortillas (1/3 of the package)--it's OK to cut some in half
4.  Top with 1/3 of the chorizo, 1/3 of the sweet potatoes, 1/3 of the roasted corn, & 1/3 of the black beans
5.  Now top with 1/4 of the salsa, and repeat the layering, starting with the tortillas.  You'll do this two times.
Tip from Veryveryverygreen: skip one (or more) of the layers of tortillas and add kale.  
6. Cover the final layer with the rest of the salsa, spreading it well.  Cover the lasagna with non-stick foil & bake for about one hour to 1 hour & 15 minutes--until the sweet potatoes are tender, and everything is nice & piping hot.  Tip: Parboil the sliced sweet potatoes ahead of time to shorten the cooking time.
7.  If you are able to eat avocados, adding just a little on top adds a nice balance to the spiciness of this dish.

Sour Cream-Like Topping - Optional
This was so quick to make & it added a nice cooling taste to this spicy dish.
Soak 1/2 cup of cashews in 1/2 cup of water for 30 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup of lime juice, to the cashews & water & blend in a high-speed blender (VitaMix) for a minute or two until creamy.
Add a sprinkle of pepper & salt if you like.
A spoonful is all you need.