Written by April AshcroftI’ve catered this dish for parties and demonstrate it monthly for my dinner class at The Bridge Recovery Center and it’s always well received. You won’t even miss the meat! I like to do a variation of this recipe by using black beans and corn tortillas in place of the pinto beans and flour tortillas. I also have a non-soy variation of the “cheeze” sauce. These recipes can be found in my cook books Whole Food Goodness and Whole Food American Favorites.
Deep Dish Tortilla Pie
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 4 oz. can mild green chilies
1 can no-salt diced tomatoes
5 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp oregano
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 pound frozen chopped broccoli
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
3 cups cooked pinto beans
Juice from one lime
4 T Braggs Liquid Aminos or salt to taste
4 Ezekiel Tortillas or other whole wheat tortilla
Cashew/Tofu Cheeze Sauce
In a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven pour Cashew/Tofu Cheeze Sauce to cover the bottom of the skillet. Lay one tortilla in the skillet and top with 1/3 of the vegetable mixture. Drizzle cheeze sauce on top. Do this with the two remaining layers but instead of topping the last vegetable mixture with cheeze, put it on top of the last tortilla so it covers the pie. Top with sliced olives and paprika if desired. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Serves 6–8.
Cashew/Tofu “Cheeze” Sauce
1 cup raw cashews
1 12 oz. pkg. Mori Nu soft silken tofu
1/2 red bell pepper seeded and quartered*
6 T lemon juice
1 clove garlic
3 T nutritional yeast
1 t onion powder
1/2 t Real Salt or sea salt
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Add this to your favorite Mexican dish, top it on a pizza, or smother your favorite vegetable. It’s good any way you like it.
*For additional heat, use red jalapeño.
April Ashcroft is the co-founder of the Vegetarian Society of Utah. She adopted the vegan lifestyle in 1991, holds a certificate in plant-based nutrition from Cornell University, and teaches regular cooking classes at The Kitchen Corner in St. George.
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