Megan’s Veggie Tamale Pie

Ever wonder what to make that’s simple, healthy, delicious, and 100% vegan? Why not make what Megan Bocchino calls a Veggie Tamale Pie. This recipe can’t be found in any cookbook. Bocchino was inspired to create this dish one evening because all she had were the ingredients listed below. Bocchino is a junior food science and nutrition major at Cal Poly with a gift for the culinary arts. Bocchino whipped up this vegan dish in Mustang Village apartments.  

“It’s my favorite recipe, because it’s easy, it stays well in the fridge, easy to heat up and the flavors get better as it sits,” Bocchino said.

The recipe calls for ten minutes of prep time and about 55 minutes cooking.

For this recipe you will need:

• Large sautee pan
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Can opener
• Large casserole dish
• Bowl for corn mixture
• Spatula
• Mixing spoon

(Any of the vegetables listed below may be substituted)

• Half of green bell pepper
• One zucchini
• One yellow squash
• One onion
• One clove of garlic
• Quarter cup of sliced crimini mushrooms. (Bocchino uses crimini mushrooms, beucase they have more flavor then white mushrooms)
• Can of black beans
• One can of diced tomatoes
• Cream of corn
• El Torito corn mix
• One package of taco seasoning
• Handful of frozen spinach.

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Once you have all ingredients you will need to:

• Clean the mushrooms by taking damp towels and wiping them off. Mushrooms are like sponges and will absorb water, so don’t run them under water.
• Chop up zucchini, bell pepper, summer squash, onion, and mushrooms.
• Mince garlic.
• Open cans of veggies
• Rinse black beans

Now that everything is chopped, let’s start cooking:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Cover pan with a light amount of olive oil and then heat pan on medium high.
• Once heated add minced garlic and chopped onions. Cook until onions are translucent. Stir.
• Add chopped yellow squash, green pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms. Sautee until soft.
• Once sautéed add one entire bag of taco seasoning. Then stir.
• Add beans and can of diced tomatoes to pan. Stir together.
• After stirring, add a handful of spinach to the mixture.
• Let simmer for 5 minutes

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While veggies are simmering prepare the sweet corn cakes

• Put El Torito corn mix in bowl. Add cream of corn. Mix together well.
• Add contents from pan into casserole dish. Then top with sweet corn cakes.
• Add to oven. Cook for about 40 minutes. Check periodically. Remove from oven once corn cake is fully cooked
• Let cook for 10 minutes.

       “It helps everything set up all the liquids,” Bocchino said.

Then Enjoy!
Brittany Davies-Morris, a junior child development major tried the meal and described it as, “light, but hearty.”