MEXICAN LASAGNE

Mexican lasagne are a convenient weeknight dinner that the kids will love as much as the grownups.

Recipe by Nigella. Featured inKITCHEN

           

Ingredients:

FOR THE SAUCE

1 tablespoon garlic infused olive oil

1 onion (peeled and chopped)

1 red pepper (deseeded and chopped)

2 green bird's eye chillies (chopped with seeds)

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes (or 1/2 teaspoon pouring salt)

2 tablespoons fresh coriander stalks (finely chopped)

800 grams chopped tomatoes (2 cans)

400 millilitres water (swilled in empty cans)

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

FOR THE FILLING

 800 grams black beans (2 cans) drained and rinsed

500 grams canned sweetcorn kernels (2 cans) drained

250 grams grated mature goat's cheddar (or cheese of your choice)

8 soft flour tortilla wraps

Preparation:

You will need a round ovenproof dish, approx. 26cm diameter x 6cm deep / 10 inches diameter x 2¼ inches deep.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6/400ºF, slipping in a baking tray at the same time.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a pan on the stove and fry the onion, pepper and chilli. add the salt and cook gently for 15 minutes and, once soft, add the chopped coriander stalks.

Add the canned tomatoes, then swill 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.

To make the filling, mix the drained beans and sweetcorn 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 smearing 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 some 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.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, and let it rest for a good 10–15 minutes before slicing like a pizza.