Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Mexican lasagna

It is with great reluctance that I let the soups slip back into archival limbo. I didn't conjure up this casserole in my sleep; I did so entirely awake and quite sober. Some years ago I made something like this. Now I had no need of a recipe. I would like to have submitted this as part of an episode of "The Next Iron Chef" on Food Network. I finished this masterpiece just a couple of hours ago and I still remember what's in it. I certainly remember that it has corn tortillas because, as I thought I was ready to start assemble, I realized I had neglected to buy them during my morning grocery run. I didn't use a full size lasagna dish. When I do, Peter and I get sick of it before it's gone. My dish was about half size. Here we go: (Egad, I miss those soups.)

Cut about a dozen tomatillos into 1 inch pieces. Cut up 2 cubanelle peppers about the same. Start this stuff sauteing in a bit of oil. When sizzling nicely, reduce heat to very, very low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.You don't need to add any broth to this; the veg will render a lot of water. Let it cool a bit and then puree it in your food processor.

In another saute pan cook two 8 inch pieces of Mexican chorizo. Puree it. Add it to the sauce. The sauce now turns somewhat reddish due to the annato in the meat. I added some salt, some pepper, some ground guajillo chiles, some garlic.

Don't feel you have to make homemade ricotta from buttermilk just because I did (nyuck, nyuck). Layer corn tortillas (sliced up a bit to cover the size of the casserole) with sauce, ricotta and asadero cheese. I think it took 4 layers for mine.

Bake at 350 covered with foil for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15. Let rest for 5 or 10 and then plunge in.


11 comments:

  1. looks delicious and just noticed your profile :-) nice to see your picture and know more about you :-)

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  2. Sounds delicious, Stephen! Interesting that you puree the chorizo before adding to the sauce... do you use ground chorizo?

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  3. Man, that sounds fabulous! Tomatillos are often overlooked but they add so much character to any dish, especially after roasting. And chorizo always rocks.

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  4. love the recipe Stephen... sounds so good and looks delicious... chorizo is the BEST thing ever no?

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  5. Flavors we would love in our home! My husband loves chorizo. Great recipe!

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  7. Arriba! Ole! Love that chorizo and this sounds great!

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  8. love this Mexican twist to lasagne Stephen! I have made a version of this before, but yours sounds more delicious... I must try it next time with the chorizo... delish!

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  9. I found your blog and it was a wonderful surprise...That Lasagna looks delicious!

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  10. Sounds utterly delicious - I can't understand how you could ever become sick of it!!!

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  11. Mmm, yum. Something to do next summer with my abundant garden tomatillos!

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