Mushroom enchiladas and failure

I'm going to have to rename vegan week as veg-forward week in my kitchen. I've always intended that I'd add a wee bit of butter, yoghurt or even anchovy when needed for flavour. But I'm really not supposed to use it to make a dish that includes a glob of sour cream *and* a load of cheese.

It was delicious, though. Enchiladas are, generally speaking. I actually kicked around the possibility of central and south American foods as a challenge, because I love love love my Wahaca cookbook, and surely everyone will end up making wraps at some point? Plus someone might do Peruvian fancy goods, which I would be very interested in. I may yet suggest it, but it seemed a bit specific and planned for the first weeks of lockdown. Stuff hidden in cupboards is v much more in tune, I think.

(Being a person of advanced anxiety, I'm starting to wonder and worry whether we'll keep up posting when lockdown eases - because I think people may go back to work at very different times, and my return is likely to be long-delayed. So, in case anyone else is fretting, I reckon we'll keep Confined Kitchen going as long as anyone wants to post in it (and/or until an official Return to Normality is declared sometime in 2022...) But I do realise once there are Prets and work lunches available again it might get a bit spottier. At the very least, the hashtag is darned useful, and will still be here as long as you need it.)

Anyway, enchiladas. You will need: tortilla wraps, tomato sauce, mushroom mix, grated cheese.

So the first problem was my shopping list, which said 'wraps' rather than 'tortillas' and so I bought huge piadina. I do have a couple of stashed packs of tortillas but I didn't really want to open a 16-pack for this smallish dish, and I've no freezer space again. So large wholemeal piadina enchiladas it is. A careless ConfinedSubstitution, but eh, it is one.

Ugly, but viable

The tomato sauce is half a chopped onion, half a tin of tomatoes, half a tbsp dried oregano, a garlic clove, some chili, and half a tbsp ground cumin. Sweat the first till soft, add the spices and stir to heat, then add the tomatoes plus 200ml water, and simmer at least 10 minutes.

All those half measures are not annoying, because for the mushroom mix, you're going to need half a chopped onion, half tbsps oregano and cumin, and a garlic clove. I like recipes that balance like that. (What you don't need is half a tin of tomatoes, so obviously I cooked the whole tin. I have other things that'll use a bit of tomato sauce this week.)

Start the mushrooms by sweating off the onion again, then adding a whole pack of sliced mushrooms and cooking them till they've stopped giving off lots of liquid. Add stalks from a bunch of coriander (reserving the leaves). Add the garlic and spices, mix well. Then add some sour cream (more or less according to conscience and whether you're allegedly eating vegan for dinners this week), and 100g grated cheddar (which will make it nice but also horrible to clean the pan after). Melt them in, mix well and then wrap them into the tortillas (/piadinas/wevs). Roll them seam-side down into your oven tin. Oven on (if it isn't already) to 170deg fan, 190 ordinary, Gas 5.

Then pour your tomato sauce over the top - you want it fairly runny as the tortillas will absorb some. Scatter cheese over. Into the oven for 20 minutes. Scatter with the coriander leaves and serve. It's good. Also works as lunchtime leftovers as I have tested today (and will continue, lawks those wraps are big).

Not quite your best life, but...

I keep saying life is really busy, and it is a lot of the time. I've been on the go today since 7.30 (laundry call), through Monday morning inbox, a load of tasks for my parents (pharmacy, post office, newsagent, let alone just shopping), and then, yanno, doing most of a day's work. But otoh I spent last night finishing my bottle of wine and trying out a random argan mud mask out of sheer boredom. Your own company is really dull after a while. Also, I need a headband.