I know that a lot of folks like Mexican Mondays or Taco Tuesdays, and I’m all for expanding my repertoire of delicious food from south of the border.
This dish is loosely based on an old favorite from the classic Moosewood Cookbook, but with a lot more protein because of the addition of a 12 ounce package of Tofurky Chorizo Style. Tofurky seems to have reformulated this product, and this was was my first time using it in its latest incarnation. I liked the fact that it is vegan, gluten-free, and very “juicy” . . . it’s also exceedingly easy to use. I basically took it out of the package and stirred it into the sautéed peppers and onions before adding the egg mixture and baking everything in the oven. No need to sauté the vegan chorizo separately because it will incorporate well and fully cook while baking!
So, here are my lovely red, yellow, orange, and green bell peppers simmering away . . .
. . . and check out the meaty appearance once I added the Tofurky Chorizo Style.
I like this dish because it is a nice choice for a weekend brunch – as well as a casual weeknight meal. I just can’t categorize it as one of my “Easy Weeknight Meals” because it takes so dang long to bake!
One note about eggs. The use of eggs makes this a vegetarian rather than a vegan dish – even though I’m using the vegan chorizo.
I try to make roughly half of my recipes suitable for vegans, but this one obviously isn’t because of the eggs. Even if I had used vegan sour cream (which I often do), and eliminated the cheese (or used a vegan alternative), this dish wouldn’t be the same without the eggs. So, even though I don’t eat eggs often, I think eggs are an animal product that has a valid place in my diet. I also recognize that eggs are a touchy subject because of the horrible conditions in which chickens are kept in most “factory farms,” so I refuse to buy them from the grocery store. I only purchase fresh eggs from the market from local famers I trust, because I want to make sure they were laid by free-range hens that can peck in the dirt and are treated humanely, and not given hormones, antibiotics, or animal byproducts for food. Since it is a natural part of a chicken’s life to lay eggs, I don’t see a harm in occasionally using them in some of my cooking.
I served this dish piping hot out of the oven, accompanied by quesadillas with organic black refried beans, guacamole, salsa, and organic blue corn tortilla chips.
One more thought . . .
The idea of putting a wall along our shared border with Mexico is so appalling to me, that I intend to find more ways to promote Mexican cuisine and culture and build friendships with the people I meet who are Mexican and have ancestors from Mexico. I think we should warmly appreciate and embrace the cultures of our neighbors – not build barriers to separate us!
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large Vidalia onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 4 cups of sliced peppers, red, green, orange, yellow
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 4 eggs
- 1½ cups sour cream
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley
- 4 ounces Pepper Jack, grated (divided use)
- 12 ounces Tofurky chorizo style
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, and sauté the onions for about 8-10 minutes over low heat to bring out their sweetness.
- Prep your peppers and garlic while the onions are slowly sautéing. Add the peppers to the skillet, and cook for about 8 minutes. Then add the garlic, cumin, sea salt, pepper, coriander, and cayenne, and saute about 4 more minutes.
- While everything is sautéing, mix the eggs, sour cream, cornstarch, sea salt and pepper, and cilantro or parsley in the food processor.
- Put the pepper onion mixture in the bottom of a greased 9' x 13' Pyrex dish. Stir in about half (2 ounces) of the grated Pepper Jack and all of the Tofurky chorizo.
- Pour the egg and sour cream mixture over the top of the pepper/onion/Pepper Jack/chorizo mixture, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 ounces of grated Pepper Jack.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
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