Mexican lasagna

Mexican food is probably my second favourite cuisine after Italian. I love burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, nachos, corn chips... I won't list them all! That will explain why, when I saw this recipe, I had to make it. It has all the elements of a fabulous Mexican dish and an Italian name. I found the recipe over at Food & Whine. It's simple, a wonderful crowd pleaser and it freezes. It's perfect.

It has pretty simple ingredients as you can see. The recipe says to use wholewheat tortillas. I couldn't find them here so I used extra light white tortillas.

First step, in a big pan, cook the meat, capsicum, onion and garlic until there's no more pink in the mince.

Next, add the beans, tomato, corn, chili powder and cumin. Cook and stir it all together for about 2 minutes.

The last step before the oven is to add the pasta sauce, salsa and pepper. Bring it to the boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in the coriander if you're using it. I left it out of mine.

To assemble the lasagna, start by coating the bottom of a baking dish with the meat sauce. I took a leaf out of Nigella's book and used a tin tray.

The next layer is the tortillas. Place them as best you can to cover the meat on the bottom.

Cover the tortillas with another layer of meat then cover with half the cheese. Finish with another layer of meat, then cheese and sprinkle with the green onions. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake in a 160C fan-forced oven for 35 minutes then remove the foil and bake it for another 10 minutes.

Serve it up and enjoy! It's not the prettiest of dishes but it sure is delicious. You can freeze the cooked lasagna in individual portions or freeze the whole thing before baking for a ready-made dinner party feast.

Recipe

Mexican lasagna

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Servings: 6 - 8

Author: Adapted from from Food & Whine

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• ½ kg 1lb extra-lean beef mince
• 1 diced red onion and diced green capsicum
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 can of kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can corn
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups your favorite tomato pasta sauce equal to one 500g jar
• 1 cup medium salsa equal to one small jar
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoon minced fresh coriander
• 4 large extra light flour tortillas
• 115 g 4oz light grated cheddar cheese (tip with cheese - if you grate it yourself it will seem like a lot more than the store-bought grated cheese)
• chopped green onions to decorate

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 160C(320F) fan-forced. Spray a lasagna dish with cooking spray and set aside. Alternatively you can use a foil baking dish.
• In a large, non-stick pot or skillet, cook the beef mince, onions, green capsicum, and garlic over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink. Break up any large pieces of beef as it’s cooking.
• Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder, and cumin. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Add the pasta sauce, salsa, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the coriander and remove from heat.
• To assemble the lasagna, spread ⅓ sauce mixture over bottom of the dish. Top with ½ the tortillas, overlapping and cutting them as necessary to fit. Top with ⅓ sauce mixture, followed by ½ the cheese. Cover the cheese with the remaining tortillas, followed by remaining sauce. Sprinkle remaining cheese over sauce and top with green onions.
• Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Let the lasagna stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing for easier serving. Top each piece with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Have you made this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think. Tag me on Instagram @clairekcreations