FEEL-GOOD FLAVOR: Ancho chiles lend an authentic touch to mushroom enchiladas. Photography: John Lawn

The Item

WILD MUSHROOM ENCHILADAS have been on and off of the room service menu at Texas Health for nearly a decade, and “every time I take them off, returning patients ask for them,” says Gary Vorstenbosch, chef/manager.

Although Texas is beef country, this vegetarian item wows patients again and again. The 360-bed hospital in the Dallas suburbs has excelled in Press Ganey scores, proof of real healthcare excellence.

The Flavors

FEATURING BOLD Southwestern flavors wrapped up in a tortilla, the filling for the enchiladas consists of three different types of mushrooms (Vorstenbosch uses button, shiitake and portabello, but “you can use any combination,” he says.)

Dried-then-reconstituted ancho chiles bring a slight sweetness with a bit of heat. They're a “moderate” on the Scoville scale of heat (1,000 to 1,500 Scoville units. Hotter than a banana pepper, but not as hot as a jalapeno).

Cilantro adds that can't-live-without-it bright taste. Roasted garlic paste further deepens the flavor, and — bonus! — can be made ahead, saved and used in other dishes.

The Method

1. As with so many great dishes, the beginning is a little olive oil in a pan, heating up. Into the pan go some onions, sauteed until they're translucent. Then, mushrooms are added and they start to “give up” their liquid. The flavors begin melding together.

2. Next come tomatoes, dry herbs, some domestic cheeses and the roasted garlic paste. Simmering commences and the hospital kitchen smells amazing.

3. Now, ancho chile paste is prepared. Dried ancho chiles play an important part in this dish. When reconstituting dried chiles, you must take out the stems and seeds, break the chile up, wash it off, then submerge in water and boil, followed by simmering for about 20 minutes with a few cloves of garlic and a shallot. Then puree and strain. Why reconstitute dried chiles? Authenticity, plus hydration for the tortillas. “Ancho chile powder cannot be used for this recipe,” Vorstenbosch says. “My first job in the United States was at Stephen Pyles' Star Canyon restaurant,” he adds, by way of explanation. (Pyles pioneered the Southwestern food scene.)

4. Corn tortillas are now dipped in some chile puree that's been simmered with extra water or vegetable broth (so the dish remains vegetarian). Dipping the tortillas heats them up and makes them more pliable, a key element in great enchiladas. “When they're pliable, they don't break,” Vorstenbosch says.

5. A little of the ancho paste is added to mushroom mixture and rolled into the tortillas. Then they are held in a refrigerator before room service.

6. Now it's go time. “When a patient orders, we get a ticket, then warm up the enchiladas in a pie tin for a few minutes in the oven,” he says.

7. The plate is finished with pico de gallo or crema (sour cream with lime juice could be used) or queso fresco. “You can add a black bean and corn relish or salsa roja as well.”

8. Finally, the plate is delivered for the patient to enjoy.

   See recipe on next page.