25 Vegetarian Mother’s Day Recipes

Mother's Day. Fifty-eight cake orders. The number is absurd. The number is the bakery becoming what the bakery is becoming: the neighborhood's bakery, the city's bakery, the bakery that people drive across town for, that they order from online, that they subscribe to, that they follow on Instagram (six thousand followers now), that they attend Rosa's Kitchen dinners at, that they bring their mothers to on Mother's Day because the conchas are the best and the tres leches is the best and the atmosphere is the best because the atmosphere is Rosa, and Rosa's atmosphere is the thing that no competitor can replicate, because Rosa's atmosphere requires Rosa's recipes and Rosa's recipes require Rosa's daughter and Rosa's daughter is me and I am not for sale and neither is the atmosphere.

Luis Jr. — now Luis Gutierrez Jr., married, Specialist, twenty-three — gave me a card that said: "Happy Mother's Day to the woman who taught me that 4 AM is not early, it's on time." On time. The military mother's compliment: on time. Not "I love you" (though the I-love-you is in the on-time). Not "you're the best" (though the you're-the-best is in the on-time). On time. The bakery opens at 4 AM. The Army operates at 4 AM. And both of them — the bakery and the Army — taught by the same woman, who is on time because Rosa was on time, and Rosa was on time because poverty doesn't allow lateness, and lateness is a luxury, and luxury is not the Gutierrez vocabulary.

I made enchiladas suizas — the tradition, year nine. The tradition that is one year from a decade, and the decade will arrive next May, and next May the enchiladas suizas will be ten years old, and ten-year-old traditions are not traditions anymore — they are laws, and the law of the Gutierrez Mother's Day is: green enchiladas, tomatillo cream, the food that says thank you in sauce.

Year nine means the enchiladas suizas are no longer a choice — they are the answer, the way Rosa’s conchas are the answer on any morning that asks what love looks like before sunrise. I always make them vegetarian, because the tomatillo cream is the point, the sauce is the thank-you, and no meat is needed when the sauce does that much work. These twenty-five recipes are the ones I keep returning to in that spirit: dishes built on vegetables and intention, the kind of food that makes a mother feel honored without anyone having to say a word.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2 poblano chiles, roasted and peeled
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
1 cup Mexican crema (or sour cream)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
12 corn tortillas (6-inch)
2 tbsp neutral oil, divided
2 cups shredded Oaxacan or Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup finely sliced scallions, divided
Sliced radishes, avocado, and extra crema, for serving

Instructions

Char the salsa base. Place tomatillos, garlic cloves, and onion on a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, turning occasionally, until tomatillos are softened and lightly charred in spots, about 8–10 minutes. Remove garlic and peel when cool enough to handle.
Blend the suiza sauce. Combine charred tomatillos, garlic, onion, roasted poblanos, vegetable broth, and cilantro in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add crema and 1 tsp salt; pulse just to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning. The sauce should be bright, tangy, and just barely pourable.
Make the filling. In a bowl, stir together ricotta, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, and half the scallions. Season lightly with salt.
Soften the tortillas. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Working one at a time, warm each tortilla for about 20 seconds per side until pliable. Transfer to a plate and cover with a clean towel.
Fill and roll. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread 1/2 cup of the tomatillo cream sauce across the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the ricotta filling down the center of each tortilla, roll tightly, and place seam-side down in the dish.
Sauce and top. Pour the remaining tomatillo cream sauce evenly over the rolled enchiladas. Scatter the remaining 1 cup shredded cheese over the top.
Bake. Bake uncovered until the sauce is bubbling at the edges and the cheese is melted and golden in spots, about 20–25 minutes.
Finish and serve. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Garnish with remaining scallions, sliced radishes, avocado, and a drizzle of crema. Serve immediately — this is the food that says thank you in sauce.

Nutrition (per serving)

25 Vegetarian Mother’s Day Recipes — The Food That Says Thank You in Sauce