Anasazi and Millet Quesadillas with New Mexican Red Chile Sauce and Avocado 'Cream'

What a mouthful!

This meal was absolutely wonderful. I really, really like Anasazi beans, and encourage anyone who can get a hold of some to try them, they are fantastic. However, if you cannot locate Anasazi beans, but would still like to make this meal, a combination of pinto and kidney, or small red beans would work well in place of the Anasazi.

We really like millet, but don’t use it nearly enough, it found a wonderful application in this dish, if you can’t find or don’t like millet, quinoa or rice would work just fine too. I really liked how the nuttiness of the millet worked with the sweetness of the corn, the flavor of the shiitake mushrooms, the hotness of the peppers, and the mildness of the beans, all around this was a great dish and we’ll definitely have it again.

Also, I used homemade tofu sour cream as the base of my avocado ‘cream’. Brett makes the tofu sour cream and does a much better job than I do, so we’ll keep it that way. Both Brett and I agree, in sauces and baked goods, silken tofu is perfectly acceptable, however when comes to using regular old tofu in main dishes, we do have well, one dish I can think of offhand that we like tofu in (Tofu and Potato Burritos). Anyways, if you wanted to make the avocado ‘cream’ but didn’t want to make the tofu sour cream yourself, I’m sure using one of those premade tubs of it would work fine too, I’ve never had it though, so I can’t vouch for it.

A couple of notes: The New Mexican Red Chile Sauce is not spicy; the pepper sauce is actually oddly sweet. Unfortunately, I don’t think any other peppers could be used in place of the New Mexican chilies here, but I was able to find a bag of dried at the grocery store here in Columbia, so I imagine many people in the United States would be able to find them somewhere. I made this sauce in the morning to allow ample time for the flavors to blend.

New Mexican Red Chile Sauce is a sauce to be used sparingly. While it isn’t spicy it is very flavorful in the way that Tabasco and Louisiana Hot Sauce are. Brett liked it in that he thought it was more versatile than those other sauces as it would work in Mexican, Southern, on pizzas, sandwiches, etc. Next time I might try making this using a different vinegar.

A dried red New Mexican chile.

Red New Mexican Chile Sauce:

Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce.

12 dried red New Mexican chile peppers, stems removed

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup hot water

1 tbsp good olive oil

a few pinches of dried cilantro

dash Mexican oregano

couple of dashes of cumin

dash paprika

couple of dashes of salt

Rehydrate the 1/2 the chilies in the vinegar for about an hour, rehydrate the other half in hot water for the same period of time.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow flavors to blend.

NOTE: This sauce freezes well, though because of all the vinegar, it will keep for quite some time in the fridge, at least a couple of months.

FOR: Quesadillas, Enchiladas, Tacos, Tostadas, Burritos or Burros, Fajitas

Chiles Japones.

Avocado 'Cream'

Makes about 1 cup Avocado 'Cream'

1/2 cup tofu sour cream

1 ripe avocado, cut in large chunks

juice of 1/2 a lime

1 clove garlic, peeled

4 Chiles Japones minced (I left the seeds in two of them) or cayenne pepper

cumin

salt

Blend in a food processor until smooth.

Anasazi and Millet Quesadilla with New Mexican Red Chile Sauce and Avocado 'Cream'

Serves 2

Cooking Time: 1 hour - I already had the beans and millet prepared in advance (including sauce preparation, 2 hours, much of it idle)

2 cups anasazi beans, cooked

1 cup millet, cooked

1/2 cup corn, cooked

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 red onion, diced

1 poblano pepper, roasted and sliced

3 serrano peppers, roasted and sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, roasted and sliced

ground coriander

paprika

chipotle chili powder

cumin

salt

vegan Monterey jack (optional)

tortillas

New Mexican Red Chile Sauce

avocado cream

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add mushrooms, garlic and onions and cook until soft about 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, toss warmed beans and millet with the spices.

Once veggies done, drain any excess water and add to the cooked corn.

Layer bean and millet mixture, corn and mushroom mixture, roasted veggies, vegan jack, and a little bit of New Mexican Red Chile Sauce in a warmed tortilla.

Fry if desired and top with avocado 'cream'.

Super yummy.

'Til next time.