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Mexican Lasagne



How do mexican ingredients piled into tall layers in between soft flour tortillas sound?  Oh, yes...that is the deliciousness that is Mexican Lasagne!  

A yummy sauce packed with onion, red bell pepper and tomatoes is used, along with a filling of black beans, sweet corn, and cheddar cheese to make the lasagne-like layers.  And what to use instead of pasta...?  Well, soft flour tortillas are just perfect.  They dissolve just enough to almost taste like soft cheese in between the layers.  Who knew??

Nigella tops hers off with a fresh Avocado Salsa that sounds divine.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the needed ingredients for the salsa, so I couldn't make it.  However, I served mine with a fresh salad of chopped lettuce, tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream...just like they do at my favorite Mexican restaurant.  It was perfection on a plate!

And leftovers?  Yep...this lasagne is even better the next day, after all those flavors have had time to meld together.

One addition I did make was ground turkey.  I simply added it as part of the sauce and cooked it along with the onions and red bell pepper in step 1.  I also had to drain a little of the water out of the sauce, to avoid it being too runny.
Bon Appetit, my friends!  :)

I tore the tortillas into pieces so that there were no gaps.

A layer of filling...

Then a layer of sauce...

Top it all off with shredded cheddar cheese...

And voila!

Mexican Lasagne
Source:  Nigella Kitchen by Nigella Lawson

Ingredients:

Sauce:


  • 1 tablespoon garlic flavoured oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 green chiles, chopped, with seeds
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro stalks
  • 2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, plus 1   2/3 cups water to rinse out empty cans
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup 
  • I added 1 lb. of cooked, ground turkey

Filling:


  • 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 1/4 cups drained canned corn, from about 1   1/2 (15-ounce cans)
  • 2 1/2 cups grated mature goats Cheddar, or cheese of your choice
  • 8 soft flour tortillas (approximately 10-inch diameter)
  • 1 round ovenproof dish, approximately 10 inches diameter and 2   1/4 inches deep
  • Avocado Salsa, for serving, recipe follows

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, slipping in a cookie sheet at the same time. 


For the sauce: Heat the oil in a saucepan on the stove and fry the onion, bell pepper and chiles (along with ground beef or turkey like I did...until meat is cooked through). Add the salt and cook gently for 15 minutes, and once soft, add the chopped cilantro stalks. 


Add the canned tomatoes then rinse the cans out with water and add this too. Spoon in the ketchup and let things come to a simmer, leaving the sauce (or salsa in keeping with the Mexican mojo) to cook while you get on with preparing the filling- about 10 minutes. 


For the filling: 
Mix the drained beans and canned corn in a bowl. Add most of the grated cheese, reserving some to sprinkle on the top at the end, and mix together. 


Start to assemble the lasagne by spooning about a third of the salsa into the bottom of your ovenproof dish and smear it about, then layer on 2 tortillas so that they cover the sauce overlapping slightly, like a Venn diagram. 


Add a third of the beans and cheese mixture covering the tortillas, and then about a quarter of the remaining salsa and another 2 tortillas. 


Repeat with another third of beans and cheese, and more salsa before layering on another 2 tortillas. 

Finally, add the last layer of beans and cheese, nearly all of the remaining salsa and cover with the last 2 tortillas. Spread the very last bit of salsa over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. 

Place on top of the cookie sheet in the oven (to catch any over-flow from the lasagne) and bake for 30 minutes, and let it rest for a good 10 to 15 minutes before slicing like a pizza, and eat with the avocado salsa. 


Make Ahead Note: The lasagne can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cool the tomato salsa before assembling. Cover dish tightly with plastic and refrigerate until needed. Bake as directed in recipe, allowing an extra 5 to 10 minutes baking time and checking the lasagne is piping hot in centre before removing from oven. 

Freeze Note: The assembled but uncooked lasagne can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap dish tightly in double layer of plastic and a layer of aluminium foil. Thaw overnight in fridge and cook as above. 

Further Note: Leftovers should be covered and refrigerated as soon as possible. To reheat, put individual slices in ovenproof dish, cover with foil and reheat in oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes. Check the lasagne is piping hot before serving. Wedges of leftover lasagne can be frozen for up to 2 months, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then either in foil or in resealable bag. Thaw overnight in refrigerator and reheat as above. 

Avocado Salsa
  • 2 avocados
  • 1 scallion, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped green jalepenos from a jar or can
  • Salt
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Halve the avocados, remove the pits, and then, using the tip of a sharp knife, cut lines down the flesh of each half, about a 1/4-inch apart and then the same across. Turn the avocado halves inside out, or otherwise release the pale green cubes into a bowl, then tumble in the scallion, chopped jalepenos, salt to taste, lime juice and most of the cilantro and toss gently to mix. Taste to see if any more salt is needed before scattering with the remaining cilantro and taking to the table.

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Comments

Priyanka said…
Looks lovely, very inviting
Judi said…
Looks delicious! Can't wait to try this.
Christina said…
Yum!!! How many servings does this recipe yield?
Angela said…
okay after reading the links and post about this I had to come and see. Wow it is a great shot and looks so yummy!! Makes you want to go in the kitchen and whip it right up!! Thanks for sharing sweetie!!
alee said…
Saw this on pinterest and I'm definitely trying it next week! Thanks :)
L said…
Ummmm.... my turned out really watery, is that supposed to happen? Why do you add the extra water? Can this be left out?
Celeste said…
Thank you all for your comments!

Christina - This recipe will feed 4-6 adults, depending on how hungry everyone is. ;)

Travis, Laraine and Sawyer - Please see my note in the recipe headnote at the top. My sauce was also a little thin, so I drained some of the water out before adding the sauce to the lasagne.
Alicia said…
Tried this tonight with a few "tweaks". Left out about half the water, made with lean ground beef and taco seasoning. It was soooo yummy! Glad I found this recipe on pinterest. Can't wait to try the leftovers tomorrow. I have a feeling they will be even better.
Anonymous said…
Can't wait to make this. My Mother used to make it with corn tortillas. Yumm a great memory.
Anonymous said…
I made this for dinner tonight it just came out of the oven and the whole hose smells wonderful! I swapped the flour for corn tortillas because I have a little one with a glutten allergy.
Anonymous said…
Why do you put a cookie sheet in the oven while preheating
Celeste said…
The cookie sheet is used to help catch any overflow from the lasagne, while it's baking.
Anonymous said…
Great recipe!
I didn't add any water, the juice of the tomatoes was enough. Simmered until the juices were absorbed and it had thickened. (the hamburger is more flavorful this way)
I added a couple of finely diced chipotle peppers to the sauce instead of chili peppers. The topped the dish with sliced olives before baking. Instead of the guacamole I just had sour cream.
Jane said…
Found this recipe on Pinterest last night and went to the store to get the ingredients I didn't have this morning. Can't wait to try it this evening! I got the Mexican style diced tomatoes and am going to use ground beef. We'll see how it goes!
Sister2Sister said…
We made this tonight and it was so good! Thanks for the inspiration!
Unknown said…
I would like to make this for a larger crowd, like a normal lasagne size pan. How could I adjust the ingredients?
Terrell said…
OMG... this was awesome... Made it today and my youngest daughter loved it.. and she's picky... Thanks Terrell
Anonymous said…
I just made this for dinner, with just a few alterations. I used ground beef, didn't use water, and added a little chili powder to the sauce. For the pepper, I used one big pablano. We made enough for a lasagna pan (since there are 6 of us) and topped it with sour cream and the avocado salsa. This was amazing! We'll definitely be making it again.
Debra said…
Took to a Halloween goodie day at work. People really liked it.
Debra said…
Made for the first time. Took to a Halloween goodie day at work. Was a hit! I thought it was good too!
Looks tasty and fun! I'll have to give it a try. :)
Unknown said…
I used up the Mexican leftovers that were in my fridge to make a chicken lasagna that followed the gist of this recipe. I had corn tortillas instead of flour but the overall flavors were amazing!! Great way to rerun my meals from earlier this week. Thanks for sharing!
Nori said…
This was a hit at my house! I layered it in a casserole dish, just like I would a regular lasagna, and it turned out great. Next time I'll leave out the extra water, though.
Brit said…
Yumm! I've made a taco casserole similar to this in the past and it was so good! The piece you cut looks a lot nicer than mine, though, haha!
Nori said…
I want to thank you so much for this recipe! It's so simple and one of my family's favorites.
Unknown said…
It is FANTASTIC. Even my kids love it and they are picky. Its definitely a family favorite. Thank you for this great recipe.
Anita said…
This will be a new favourite, instead if water I used juice of the corn and beans nice flavour and I also like some other did taco seasoning in the sauce, when I put it together I added a drizzled spicy quest sauce on top or the bean and corn mixture....yummy! Such a great potluck dish as well. thanks

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