Week 13, Recipe 13 - Mexican Night!

For this week's recipe ... Yes, sneaking it in at the end of the week here ... I made a comparison tortilla pie recipe that involved black beans and beer. I got this recipe from marthastewart.com in 2006.

In all honesty, I'm pretty sure I made it before and this is why I have the mysterious springform pan. However, I'm sure it has been at least four or five years since I made it and I did some recipe modifications, so I'm counting it as a new recipe.

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and ground  pepper
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
12 ounces beer, or 1 1/2 cups water
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add beans and beer to skillet, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Unmold pie; sprinkle with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges.

Laura's Recipe Edits:

• To try and up the healthy factor, I used high fiber low calorie tortillas, reduced sodium beans, reduced fat cheese, and light beer.
• I used a small can of green chiles instead of jalapeno.
• I used one can of beans and one pound of lean ground sirloin (the husband doesn't prefer 100% vegetarian recipes).

Issues:

• The liquid never really evaporated. I don't know if this was due to the addition of ground sirloin or a temperature issue or both. I ended up having to strain it before adding the corn and scallions.
• As with the other tortilla pie, filling wasn't overly flavorful. I ended putting some taco sauce into it before assembling the pie.

Issues aside, we liked this pie better than the one I made last week. I don't need spinach in my mexican food and preferred the beans. So ...

Next Time:

• I will try cooking the beans and beef separately and then combine. So, in step 3, I'll add one can of beans and the beer, reducing to get the liquid to evaporate. I may also need to reduce the amount of beer since it is less beans? In a separate pan, I will brown the beef with taco seasoning. Then, I will combine the beef with the beans and add the corn and scallions.

I guess this means I'm learning something here. Or at least have the confidence to try something different to make a recipe better. How knew?

I have to slow cooker recipes - an apple crisp and teryaki chicken - lined up for this week just in time for the snow that is apparently on it's way. Sounds like a good day for a warm dessert ...