Potato & Kale Tostadas with Mole
Saturday, September 5, 2009 at 1:21AM in Brunch, Main Dish, Potatoes, Sauce, cooking, recipes, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian Seems like I’ve been missing for (more than) a few days, right? Back to school time! It’s almost more time consuming than getting ready for Christmas. Seriously. And just like Christmas, there’s always one or two (or three or four) last minute things you’ve forgotten. Or more things you find out you need. Gah! Can’t we be done and settle into a routine already? Still waiting for that to happen. And this is my first year with my littlest one in school, so I’m really looking forward to those free days with no errands or pressing engagements, where I can actually hear the quiet around me.
I’ve heard about those days. And this thing called “quiet.” Are they real, or fantasies I’ve only heard of and dreamed about? Aaaaanyway…
I love love love enchiladas. L.O.V.E. them. My husband? Ehhhh, not so much. He’ll eat them if put in front of him, but he’ll never say “Hey, sweets--can you make those awesome enchiladas again?” Sigh.
When I saw this recipe for Potato and Kale Enchiladas in Veganomicon, I filed it away in my head to make one day and just put them on the table in front of him. I imagined he’d eat them--and like them, but not be blown away by gorgeous vegan enchiladas. And besides, my enchiladas are never gorgeous, vegan or not--because, let’s face it--they’re enchiladas. You throw some stuff in a tortilla, roll it up, cover it in sauce and cheese and then dig in like a barbarian. Amazingly delicious and comforting? Yes! Gorgeous? No.
Last week, he was looking through Veganomicon, and came across the enchiladas. He loves kale and potatoes, so he was hooked. “Yay,” I thought. But no, he wanted to make tostadas instead. Damn. Ok, I can do this. He even went to the store and bought the stuff. But instead of tortillas, he picked up arepas to try. They’re like a thick, almost pancake-like tortilla. I’ve always wanted to make them, so I went with it.
We didn’t use the Roasted Chile Sauce from the book that pairs with the recipe, though. A few weeks back, I made Mole sauce following a simplified version of a Rick Bayless recipe. We used some then, and stowed the rest in the freezer. It freezes really well!
You can see it here--scroll down to the bottom for the recipe. I also used the sauce on these Portobello Tostadas, a post of mine featured on The Mushroom Channel. Those were fantastic! The sauce may seem overwhelming to make, but it really isn’t. You can read my breakdown of it in that post. And it’s so good! It also makes a lot, so you can enjoy it with other things.
I changed up the Potato and Kale recipe somewhat. For one, I didn’t just dice and boil the potatoes. I didn't want mashed potato enchiladas. So I partially baked them in the microwave, then diced them and sautéed them to get crispy edges. I also added spices to them for more flavor.
We loved these! And we’ll definitely make them again. Maybe I’ll even make them into enchiladas next time…
Sound good? Here we go!!
Potato and Kale Tostadas with Mole
First, prepare your mole, and set aside. Or use your favorite enchilada sauce.
1 pound small red potatoes
1/2 pound kale, washed, drained and chopped
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
grape seed oil
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp cumin
1/4 cup vegetable broth (or chicken if you're not going for vegan)
3 TB lime juice
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, plus extra for garnish
a bit of salt, to taste (But taste before adding! You'll probably find you don't need it.)
6 arepas (or you can use regular 6" corn tortillas, fried and crispy, or fill, roll up and proceed to make enchiladas)
Wash the potatoes, poke them with a fork, and partially bake in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes.
Set aside to cool for a few minutes, then dice them. Keep out 1/2-3/4 cup of the potatoes for mashing into the filling.
Heat a sauté pan over medium high heat, add a bit of oil to heat.
Add the diced potatoes and sprinkle with your favorite seasonings. I went for adobo, black pepper, paprika, and ancho chile powder.
Sauté them until they're nicely crisped and browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium, wipe out the pan and heat up a bit more oil.
Add the garlic and stir until lightly browned. Don't let it burn!
Add the kale and sprinkle a bit of salt over it. Toss it in the pan to cover it with the oil and garlic.
Partially cover the pan so the kale can steam and wilt. This will take about 4-5 minutes.
With a fork, mash the potatoes that you set aside. Add these to the kale, along with the broth, lime juice and 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds.
Cook for a few more minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
Set your filling aside and heat up some oil to fry up the arepas or tortillas. But be warned! These arepas had a lot of moisture in them and splattered a lot. Seriously, a LOT. So have a splatter screen at the ready.
Or you can just fry up regular tortillas.
Spread some mole over the arepas, then top with some of the filling. Drizzle a bit more sauce over the top, and garnish with pumpkin seeds.
To make enchiladas, bake them at 375. Put a bit of sauce in the bottom of an 11x7 pan, top with your rolled enchiladas, pour some sauce over the top. Cover with foil, bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more.
And as always, I’m the official Lego photographer in the house. My six year old always has Lego’s in his hands. ALWAYS. hehe.
“Oh, mom--I see you’re taking food pictures again. Can you take pictures of my Lego guys?” I can’t even tell you how many Lego photos I have in my files. ;)
Reader Comments (18)
Yep, back-to-school time here too :) Glad to see you posting again!!
Delish toastadas and cute Lego guys!
These sound really different and delicious. I haven't ever done much w/ mole sauce.
It's funny, my 8 year old has never really been into legos until a couple of weeks ago. He met a new friend at school who is totally into them, so guess what... now he's totally into them too. We're headed to TRU today to get some sort of Lego Miner's set. I'm sure you know what those are!
These look wonderful! My husband loves veggies and we eat vegetarian quite often, but that would be the day he would choose a dish and then go shop for it! That's half the battle of getting food on the table! You are lucky there!
I like the changes that you made to the recipe and the pumpkin seeds on top are the perfect touch! I bet that would be good with verde sauce as well. I haven't made mole sauce before.
Yum! That seems like an awesome way to use up that kale! I love the sounds of these as enchiladas! Must try them...
These look AMAZING elle. I bet the mole sauce and potatoes were a GREAT combination!!! YUMMMMM!
that looks amazing, elle! so much more hearty and filling than your typical tostada. hooray for mole! :)
OMG, so fallish looking....divine!
I can't believe school is back in session. The summer went quickly this year. I love veggie enchiladas and luckily the hubs does too. We will have to try this dish though. It looks fantastic!
Oh, what an interesting dish
These look so yummy! I'd be asking for them again I am sure!
I love legos. My kids always wanted to play with them....and in the summer they would cart their buckets out to the picnic table and spend the whole afternoon doing just that!
Your mole (there is no accent on the "e" in Spanish) looks divine! I remember making mole a few months ago. It was a laborious, unforgettable experience.
Cute Lego photo! Your son did a great job!
Elle,
OMG, I hear you, this getting back to school thing is such a pain. I love the recipe, looks delicious!
love, from a fellow Lego photographer :)
I miss Legos so much. I used to have tons of them. Heh. Mole is the best, I still remember the first time I had it. A buddy of mine who was going to culinary school all but forced it on me. I wasn't very adventurous then. ;)
Looks delicous! We love Mole Sauce! Pumpkins seed garnish is wonderful. I like to top my potato bread with pumpkin seeds.
Love the lego guys!
Finally--something to make with all of the garden potatoes! Thanks for the recipe--it looks delicious.
Been meaning to get back here & check this out. (blush!)
I've been looking for different uses for kale (just because we'd like to eat more of it), and this could really fit the bill. I love that combination of spices! Gettting the shopping list together, as we speak!
This looks real GOOD!
somehow I didn't realize that you had kids, how is he handling the new vegan lifestyle?