Tortilla pie
Darac and I worked out that we quite liked Mexican food some time ago. One day, I came across a recipe on taste.com.au for a twist on a Mexican recipe: the tortilla pie! The result was really rather tasty, and since then we've picked up ideas from elsewhere and incorporated them into the recipe. We've come across a different version recently with shredded pre-cooked tortillas that worked really well, but for now I've forgotten that — I'll get them updated when I remember. In the mean time, this is still pretty tasty in my opinion, and I hope you like it just as much.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large red onion
- 2 garlic cloves (or if you're like me, a whole bulb will go down well)
- 500 g minced beef
- 1–3 bell peppers, depending on how much you like them
- 250 g canned sweetcorn
- 1 teaspoon of chilli power
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 250 ml coriander leaves (volume really is the best way to measure them)
- 8 flour tortillas, any type you like
- 400 g cheese: Monterey Jack is particularly good, but a mild cheddar, Gruyère, emmental or similar will do the trick as well
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pan or wok.
- Chop the onion.
- Crush the garlic over the onion.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan.
- Cook over a medium head for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Add the mince.
- Cook, stirring, for about 8 minutes until browned.
- Meanwhile, chop the peppers into cubes of around 2 cm on a side and grate the cheese.
- Drain and rinse the sweetcorn.
- After the meat is browned, mix in the chopped peppers, sweetcorn and chilli power.
- Cook for three minutes further until the peppers are just softening.
- Stir in the tomatoes.
- Bring to the boil, then simmer for about five minutes.
- Turn off the heat.
- Chop the coriander, then mix into the pan.
- Prepare either of the following:
- A lasagne-type deep baking tray large enough for the tortillas by oiling it thoroughly.
- A cake tin large enough for the tortillas by greasing it if metal, or doing nothing if silicone.
- Pre-heat your oven (if necessary) to 160°C.
- Repeat the following loop seven times:
- Add a tortilla to the prepared tray/tin.
- Spread over one seventh of the original mixture from the pan.
- Sprinkle over one eighth of the grated cheese.
- Add the final tortilla
- Sprinkle over the remaining cheese
- Bake in the oven until the top tortilla is just crisp, about 15 minutes.
- Cut into slices like a cake and serve.
As with all recipes, please do send in suggestions for improvements or any other comments, as I'd love to hear them.