Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles

First off I would like to say a HUGE Thank You to all of you who left a comment on Thursday's post. I am feeling much better now, although Friday morning was a bit foggy. Sorry Jasmine, there was no rye left to send to you!

Other than the schizophrenic weather and that the first Saturday of the Millarville Farmers Market was cancelled due to rain and flooding (just like last year) it was a pretty nice weekend. We cooked two tasty dinners; one old favorite and one new recipe from a new cookbook.


Last night I made Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles from my new cookbook The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. This book kicks some serious butt. This one and a vegan cookbook I bought which I'll tell you about another time, have become daily reading material. I've marked half the recipes in this one to try out.
I picked this recipe for dinner mainly to use up the corn tortillas I bought at the Calgary Farmers Market. I have also seen a few other recipes on the internet for Chilaquiles that I wanted to try. Chilaquiles is basically a dish made to use up stale tortillas. They are layered with some kind of tomato or meat sauce and baked like a casserole. One recipe I saw said Chilaquiles is a common breakfast dish in Mexico and Guatemala. This one was very hearty, filled with beans and peppers and zucchini. It made a ton, but we'll happily eat the leftovers for a couple of days.

Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles
from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas

Serves 8

1 1/2 tb olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium green pepper diced (i used a red pepper)
28 oz can crushed or pureed tomatos
2 tsp chile powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
16 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 small hot chile pepper or 4 oz can mild green chiles (i used a small can of tomatilla salsa)
12 6 inch corn tortillas torn or cut into several pieces
8 oz grated cheddar cheese or non dairy cheese

Preheat oven to 400'. Lightly oil a 9x13" baking pan.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Saute the onion until translucent. Add the bell pepper and saute until it has softened and the onions are golden. Stir in the remaining ingredients except the tortillas and cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Layer half the tortillas in the pan, then top with half the bean mixture and half the cheese. Repeat. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes. Cut in squares and serve.

Truly wonderful!

Today at lunch I went to a book sale raising money for kids summer camps. Here's the culinary part of my score:

I got James Beard's American Cookery, a bbq book called Dressed to Grill, 3 issues of Fine Cooking, and 3 issues of Italia! magazine, which I have never heard of before. But I am a sucker for that sort of thing. I bought the magazines for ten cents each, which is even better as the Italia! magazine's price tags were $11.95 each! and the books for $1.00 each.
Score!