This Tortilla Chicken Lasagne / Pie looks good doesn’t it? It is or rather was.
I am sure one of these has been made somewhere sometime, but I got the idea from Skater. I asked him what he wanted for dinner. He said Tortillas ..Oh no wait, maybe pie. Can I have a Tortilla Pie?
Of course you can . I love a challenge.
To be honest it is pretty easy. There are several of steps but you really can’t go wrong. It requires a couple of really Mexican style ingredients to make it extra special. One of those is Achiote seasoning. It has colour and taste and I love it with chicken but also use it in other Mexican dishes. This can be sourced in some delis or online. ( mine comes from Fiji market in Newtown -if you are in Sydney) There is also a little chipotle chilli in adobo sauce in here. Just a touch as Skater doesn’t love chilli , he’ll just tolerate a little but the flavour of these chillies is really a must. You can find these in IGA stores, delis or on line.
The thing he really loved are the steamed ears of corn smothered in homemade lime mayonnaise and sprinkled with smoked paprika. Don’t skip the smoked paprika.
Achiote paste on the left and Chipotle chillis on the right
Tortilla Chicken Lasagne, cheesy corn cobs and smoked paprika
Ingredients
- 1 packet tortillas packet 8 flour or corn tortillas x 8' or 20cm
- 500 gm chicken thigh fillet chopped into small pieces
- 60 ml olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 3 Tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika available at delis and food stores
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 400 gm black beans (black turtle beans- any size drained)1 can
- 20 gm achiote paste - 1 tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons chipotle chilli approx 2 Tablespoons
- 3 rashes of bacon chopped and some sauce, approx 1 cup
- 750 ml tomato passata puree, approx 3 cups
- 250 gm Cheese Grated however much you want but set some cheese aside for the top.
Topping
- 125 ml cream (1/2 cup)
- 2 cups tomato passata
Cheesy Corn
- 3 ears corn cut1/2 (1x 1/2 corn ear per person)
- 150 gm Cheese fine grated ( the smallest grate on your grater)1 extra cup
- 125 gm lime mayonnaise 1/2
- 1 tsp smoked paprika for sprinkling
Instructions
- Set the oven to 180 F/ 350 F
Tomato Cream sauce Topping
- Put the cream and the topping passata into a pot and simmer till reduced by a bit over a half. Season with a little salt and pepper. Set aside
The Lasagne
- Heat a medium sized pot or fry pan with high sides and add 2 Tablespoon olive oil, bacon and the chicken and cook stirring until it turn white and is just starting to cook. Add onion, garlic, spices and herbs and stir till fragrant and the onions have softened.
- Add the beans and tomato puree / passata. Add the achiote paste mixed with 1 tablespoon of boiling water and break it down before adding to the tomato sauce.
- Turn the sauce to low and simmer . The chicken is cooked and the sauce is starting to reduce a bit. Turn off. This will take about 10 minutes on low
- Put a little sauce at the bottom of your pie dish and put a tortilla down. Continue with all of the tortilla's and sauce till they are all used, adding some grated cheese to alternate layers as you go. There may not be a great deal of sauce on the layers, just enough for flavour. Finish with a tortilla.
- Cover with the tomato cream sauce by pouring it over the tortilla lasagne ( you may not need all of it depending on the size of the dish you are using).
- Sprinkle with the reserved cheese. Tent very lightly with foil, with out touching the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the foil and bake till bubbling, about another 10 minutes.
The Corn
- Serve with steamed corn. Just before serving spread with mayonnaise onto the serving side of each piece of corn sprinkle well with grated cheese and smoked paprika.
Notes
Just a bit of sauce on each layer is enough.
Don't skip the cheese between layers
The tomato cream sauce should be reduced enough so that it becomes easy to pour over the top of the pie and stay there.
Don't forget to set aside cheese for the top
You can put as much cheese into the lasagne as you like. you could also use other cheeses in between the layers like Farmers cheese, ricotta, feta, mozzarella or anything else you fancy
You can buy mayonnaise and add a bit of lime juice or zest to it
Achiote looks like an orange stock cube and can be reconstituted in the same way
These are some off Skaters favourites too, this Ricotta Red Pepper Pie .
Chicken, Spinach and feta Pie or this delicious
Chicken cottage pie
This pie is certainly looking indulgent! But I love how you combine good Aussie pie with Mexican flavour 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
My MiddleC has been craving Mexican flavours Tania, so I know she’ll adore this one for sure! Skater it’s one lucky fella to have you for a mum xox
What a deliciously good idea from Skater! I love how it is overflowing! 🙂
Looking at all these pics, I can bet it is so darn flavorful!! My mouth is watering so bad!
Tania this looks fantastic. All my favourite things in one dish. You really can’t go wrong with Mexican for dinner can you?
I’m going to call one day and try, ‘Mum, I’m coming home for dinner and can we have …” and think up wacky ingredients. You are so clever and this looks amazing!
Bring it on Maureen!
I have made stacks of tortillas before like a cake on a tray but never in a pie dish. That is actually better so all the good stuff doesn’t ooze all over the place like with my system. That sure looks appealing.
Looks like perfect boys food – will keep this in mind for the night poker night.
I love how you made him just what he wanted. What a great warming meal for a cold winter’s night. I love those Mexican ingredients and will have to look out for them xx
Oh my. 🙂 You brought back such happy memories of Mexican food from my years in the States. Happy sigh. 🙂
Ingenious! What a great comeback to you son’s request. The corn sounds like the perfect side too. How lucky you had a dish the perfect size too. It was meant to be! Lol
Amazing. Genius to use tortilla in this way! The perfect answer to the challenge.
Love this idea! Now going to search for a dish that’s tortilla-sized! lol