Lentiladas

Lentil Enchiladas

1/2 cup green lentils

1 yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, mashed

olive oil

3 carrots, diced

2 T tomato paste

2 t cumin + 1 t (heaping)

1 t (heaping) paprika

water

salt

1 small can diced green chilis

sour cream, cream cheese, or cottage cheese – about 1/4 cup

tortillas

cheese to top

Boil lentils till tender, about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, saute onions, garlic, and carrots in olive oil (1-2 t) till starting to soften, ~5 minutes.  Add tomato paste, 2 t cumin, and paprika, stir to combine.  If you aren’t cooking for a wee one, add chili or cayenne if you wish!  Add about a cup of water, and let the mix simmer down.  If it starts to dry up, add more water to keep the mix saucy – I probably ended up adding 1 to 1.5 more cups of water.  Simmer about 20 minutes, until veggies are very soft.  Whir the mix in the food processor to make your enchilada sauce – taste test and add salt as you see fit.

Drain the lentils, and mix in a medium bowl with the green chilis, extra cumin, and your choice of sour cream, cream cheese, or cottage cheese (I used about 1 T cream cheese – using up the dregs taking up space in the fridge – and then threw in cottage cheese to make it creamy).

Pour some of the sauce down in a glass baking dish.  Spoon lentil mixture into tortillas, roll, and place seam-side down in your dish.  Slather with the rest of the sauce, top with cheese, and bake at 350 till cheese is melty.

We served them with chopped romaine, fresh guac, and sour cream.  Yummy!

These are even better leftover – if you can wait, cook them a day ahead and then reheat in the oven.  The lentils absorb the flavor and it becomes Mexican heaven!