My recipes are usually very straightforward and quick, only containing a few ingredients and not many steps.
For me, the current recipe categorizes under simple recipes too, but it does require quite many steps, especially if you also decide to prepare your own sauce and haven’t precooked the lentils in advance.
I usually cook a large batch of lentils, chickpeas or beans over the weekend and then use them during the week in different recipes – it is an excellent way to save time during the busy working week and always prefer cooking my own legumes over the canned versions.
Talking about the canned versions, this recipe uses quite an unusual ingredient that is canned because it is difficult if not even impossible to get fresh one outside of Asia. I am talking about the king of fruits – jackfruit!
Jackfruit is a huge fruit mostly grown in South-East Asia, and I fell in love with it there. It is enjoyed raw as a dessert, but it is just fantastic in savory preparations too. Of course – the fresh version is always better than canned options so if you can find it I highly recommend using the fresh one, then it needs to be stewed until soft (I am not in a position of giving clear instructions on this one, since I have ever only cooked with canned version myself).
Its texture is compared to pulled pork, so it is often used as a replacement for meat in vegan dishes. If you do like the soft stringy texture of pulled pork, but prefer a plant-based option – give jackfruit a go! Unfortunately, it is not very high in protein so in my recipe I decided to combine it with nutritious lentils and I am more than happy with the result.
And the enchilada sauce – could you imagine it is so simple to prepare it yourself?
Lentil-jackfruit enchiladas
Serves: 2
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
0.5 cups puy lentils
1 onion
1 jalapeno
1 tsp ground cumin
Oil for frying
1 can of jackfruit
1 capsicum
2 cups enchilada sauce (homemade or store-bought, I prefer using my own)
4 tortillas
3.5 oz (vegan) cheese
Fresh coriander to serve
Enchilada sauce (for those who prefer homemade stuff)
3 tbsp mild tasting oil
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp ground paprika
Chili flakes to taste
1 tsp oregano
1.5 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
7 oz crushed tomatoes
Salt to taste
Directions:
Enchiladas
Boil the lentils in salted water until tender, but not mushy.
Preheat the oven to 200C/390F.
Chop the onion and the jalapeno and fry with the cumin and a pinch of salt over medium heat until the onion looks translucent and the whole room is full of wonderful aroma.
Add the drained jackfruit and capsicum to the pan and fry occasionally stirring for about 5 minutes until the capsicum softens and jackfruit falls apart slightly.
Then add the lentils and 1/3 of the sauce to the pan, mix, taste and season a little more if necessary.
Cover the bottom of a baking dish with 1/3 of the sauce.
Divide the filling between 3 tortillas, roll them up and place to the baking tray so that the seam stays on the bottom.
Cover the rolls with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle with the (vegan) cheese.
Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes until they are lightly crispy.
Enchilada sauce (which I recommend preparing at home):
Mix the seasonings and the flour.
Heat oil in a smaller pan. Add flour mixture to the oil and heat it for 5 minutes, continually stirring.
Add the stock and keep stirring on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Add the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes to the sauce, mix everything together and adjust the seasoning again.
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She loves healthy food and cooking and for her, these two are often the same thing. Cooking meals from scratch, you know exactly what goes in it and even without holding back with sugar or fat we end up using a lot less compared to ready-made frozen stuff from the supermarket. She does love to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!"
Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: http://www.kahvliga.ee/.
Practice Yoga for Detox, Cleansing, & Vitality now to complement this healthy recipe!