Mexican Spicy Beef Tortilla

From South American Food and Cooking. This is a lasagna-like combo that is quite flexible to suit your family's preferences. Instead of 12 oz of meat, I used some already cooked beef cubes I had in the freezer and added a can of pinto beans and some corn. Chicken or ground beef would work as well.
- Ready In:
- 1hr 10mins
- Serves:
- Units:
6
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ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced (or other chili)
- 12 ounces round steaks, cut into cubes
- 1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans (Optional if using less meat, could also use black or kidney beans)
- 1⁄2 cup corn (optional)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 cups cooked rice
- beef stock (to moisten, if needed)
- 3 large flour tortillas
-
salsa picante
- 2 (14 ounce) cans chopped tomatoes (I used one can with jalapeno peppers mixed in)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 -2 fresh red chile, seeded and chopped (or other chilis, I used a large Anaheim)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1⁄2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
- tomato juice (or water, if required)
-
cheese sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1⁄2 cup flour
- 2 1⁄2 cups milk
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- salt
- pepper
directions
- preheat oven to 350.
-
make the salsa picante:
- place tomatoes, garlic, onion and chiles in a blender and process till smooth. (I just chopped everything and didn't run through a processor).
- pour into a small pan and add spices and oregano and season with salt.
- bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. boil for 1-2 minutes, then lower heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
- the sauce should be thick, but of pouring consistency.
- if it is too thick, dilute with a little fresh tomato juice or water.
-
make the cheese sauce:
- melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. cook, stirring, one minute.
- add the milk, stirring all the time, till sauce boils and thickens.
- stir in all but 2 T of cheese and season to taste.
- cover the pan with a lid and set aside.
- mix onion, garlic and chili in a bowl. add the steak cubes and mix well.
- heat the oil in a frying pan and stir fry the meat mixture for about 10 minutes, till meat cubes have browned and the onion is soft.
- stir in the rice (and corn and/or beans if desired) and enough beef stock to moisten.
- season to taste with salt and pepper.
- pour about a quarter of the cheese sauce into the bottom of a round, ovenproof dish (will need about a 2-qt sized dish - I tried a deep pie plate it wasn't big enough).
- add a tortilla and then spread over half the salsa, followed by half the meat mixture.
- repeat these layers, then add half the remaining cheese sauce and the final tortilla.
- pour over the remaining cheese sauce and sprinkle the reserved grated cheddar on top.
- bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or till golden on top and heated through.
MY PRIVATE NOTES
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RECIPE MADE WITH LOVE BY
@pattikay in L.A.
Contributor
@pattikay in L.A.
Contributor
"From South American Food and Cooking. This is a lasagna-like combo that is quite flexible to suit your family's preferences. Instead of 12 oz of meat, I used some already cooked beef cubes I had in the freezer and added a can of pinto beans and some corn. Chicken or ground beef would work as well."
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I made the salsa picante a day ahead to blend the flavors together and I strongly suggest to do so as it intensifies in flavor and it will save you a bit of time as this complete recipe is labour intensive, the salsa is an over-the-top recipe and I will make it again mixing some jalapeno peppers with the chilies, I used Velveeta cheese for the cheese sauce which worked out well, I like a creamy sauce for this kind of recipe and I do recommend increasing the sauce ingredients slightly as there was barely enough for the layering, all in all this is a wonderful recipe and one my family enjoyed. thanks Pattikay!...KittenReply
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Ok, this is a lot of work - but sooooooooooooooooooo worth it. I darn well almost at this whole thing by myself! Had to make another one, as I had guests coming for dinner. (Hey - the first one was "practice" ROFL) Obviously, I'd make this again. (As I did, and I had to because I couldn't serve guests one that was 3/4 eaten!) Thank you Pattikay for sharing this!1Reply
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