mexican-cornbread casserole

Mexican-Cornbread Casserole. Muy easy. Muy vegan. Muy bueno.

The other night, I opened my pantry in search of supper inspiration. A sexy little can of La Morena Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce winked at me, and I was overcome with an intense and unstoppable hankering for Mexican food. Luckily for me, I also happened to have a can of refried beans on hand. But alas, no tortillas were to be found and I was too tired to run out to the store.

My inspiration for this recipe. Notice "chipotle" is misspelled on the label, as my editor friend Zhanna pointed out.

So what's a girl with a craving to do? Make a casserole, with a simple, savory cornbread topping. I adore Mexican cuisine as much as the next amiga, but I tend to lean too heavily on the monotonous burrito-taco-enchilada trifecta. This casserole offers a fun, easy reprieve; the cornbread tempers the peppers' sassiness with a soothing hit of sweetness. I'm pleased with the results and will add this recipe will be on my "easy dinner" short list. Despite the cornbread, it only takes about 30 minutes of hands-on time to throw together.

Before I give you the recipe, I'd like to announce the new winner of Veganissimo, since the original winner never responded and did not include a way for me to contact her: Congrats, Kelly G! Email me your address and we'll get your prize out.

Is it a placemat? Or a wee yoga mat for kitties? Bossa Nova thinks the latter.

Incidentally, as I set out to photograph this casserole, I fished out a few place mats from my collection to try. And of course, Bossa Nova settled herself on the one I was going to use, so I ended up going with my second choice. She looked to cute to move.

Vegan Mexican-Cornbread Casserole

Filling:

• Cooking spray
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups of your favorite vegetables, chopped if not already tiny [eg, celery, peppers, carrots, onion, corn, edamame, broccoli, spinach. I used Trader Joe's Healthy 8 – already chopped!]
• 1 15-oz. can refried beans [lard-free, obv]
• 1/4 cup La Morena Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce [You can substitute any kind of canned hot pepper, but depending on the heat, you may need to reduce the quantity]
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Cornbread topping:

• 1 1/3 cup non-dairy milk [I used unsweetened flax milk]
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 3 T canola or coconut oil
• 1 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Serves 6

Spray a medium casserole with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Pour the vinegar into the non-dairy milk and stir to make "soured" milk. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium and saute your veggies until tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Mix it all up.

In a medium bowl, combine, refried beans, chipotle peppers and cooked veggies. Stir well then spread/pour into your casserole.

In a large bowl, mix all cornbread ingredients until just combined: do not over mix. Spread across the top of the bean mixture, and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until cornbread is golden brown on top. You may have to sneak a taste from the center before committing to removing the casserole from the oven, just to make sure the cornbread is cooked through.

Serve as is, or topped with avocado slices.