It's Enchilada Time

Vegetarian Enchilada Shells

I picked up this recipe from my dear college friends Avni and Jinali. They graciously had me over for dinner one day and I fell in love with this dish. It is the perfect recipe for sharing, especially at potlucks, since the shells make for great individualized servings and you don't even need a knife! On busy call months, I like using this recipe since we end up with leftovers for days which means less cooking, more sleep. 

Vegetarian Enchilada Shells Recipe

Yield: ~30 filled shells

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 box of jumbo pasta shells
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 package of soy chorizo (My favorite is the one from Trader Joes. You can also substitute with regular chorizo if you prefer it over soy.)
• 1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
• 1 can sweet corn - drained and rinsed
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 2 - 10 oz cans red enchilada sauce
• 1-2 cups shredded mexican cheese mix
• Sour cream (optional)
• Salsa (optional)

Instructions:

1. Boil pasta according to instructions on box to an al dente consistency.
2. Chop onion and bell pepper and stir-fry over medium heat with 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan for about 3 minutes.
3. Remove chorizo from casing and add to pan. Continue to sauté this for another 5-7 minutes to cook through. 
4. Add drained and rinsed canned black beans and corn and mix thoroughly. Stir over medium heat for 1 minute.
5. Add goat cheese to chorizo mixture and stir until combined. 
6. Take pan off heat.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
8. In a 13x9inch baking pan, pour just enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of the pan (about 1/2 a 10 oz can). This will help prevent the shells from sticking to the pan. 
9. Fill pasta shells with chorizo mix--roughly1.5-tbsp of mixture per shell. Fill more or less as you please. 
10. Line filled pasta shells in pan. My pan holds about 24 filled shells. I usually have a smaller, second pan for the extra shells. 
11. Pour the remainder of the enchilada sauce across the tops of your enchilada shells. The sauce will settle on the bottom of the pan and will not cover your shells. 
12. Sprinkle desired amount of shredded cheese mix over your shells to cover.
13. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. 
14. Remove foil and bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes.
15. Serve with salsa and sour cream to top. 

Ingredients - you can find most of these at Trader Joes, except the jumbo shells and enchilada sauce I picked up at Vons. I love the Soy chorizo from TJ's, but if soy is not your cup of tea, you can also substitute with regular chorizo. Just make sure you cook it through well. 

Chopped bell pepper and onion

Chorizo mixture - cooked and ready to fill

Filled pasta shells

Pour the remainder of the enchilada sauce over your filled shells

Add the shredded cheese and bake!

Finished enchilada shells

Top with sour cream and salsa as desired and serve warm