Ordinarily, I am somewhat suspicious of fusion food. I once saw a guy bitching about ‘chicken tikka lasagna’, a rank sounding combination of curry, pasta and cheese, in a comedy routine, and high end London fusion restaurant Asia de Cuba has always seemed like a slightly ridiculous idea to me (people of Asia de Cuba, if you fancy proving me wrong, head on over to the contacts page!).
The ingredients in this recipe however, don’t deviate from what you would normally include in a burrito. It is merely the layered composition of tortillas, refried beans and chili that align it with the Italian classic, Lasagna, so fear not of a strange béchamel, Mexican, mish-mash.
I suppose it is a tiny bit misleading to label this one as a ‘quickie’ because there are a few stages, and it does need to go into the oven for 20mins. But while it might not be a ‘knock up quickly when you can’t be arsed’ affair however, it’s a pretty easy dish that looks impressive if you have friends over for dinner, or is a brilliant way to creatively use leftover chili.
This recipe uses a beef chili but you could of course substitute this with a vegetable or chicken version should you be so inclined. The amount of chili stated below gives a relatively mild result, so it goes without saying that you should increase the chili if you prefer it hot.
Ingredients
500g lean minced beef
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 red chili, finely chopped
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 can of refried beans
4 soft flour tortillas
1 can of refried beans
200g grated cheese
Guacamole and sour cream to serve
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Directions
Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add chili, garlic and onion. Fry for 3-5mins.
Add beef and pepper and fry for a further 5mins. Add can of tomatoes and simmer for 10mins.
Spoon half of the beef mixture into an oven dish and lay a tortilla on top. Spread the tortilla with half a can of refried beans. Repeat alternately with the rest of the chili, tortillas and refried beans so you are left with a tortilla on top.
Cover with cheese and bake in the oven at 200C/Gas mark 5 for 20mins until cheese is golden and chili is bubbling around the sides.
Slice into wedges and serve topped with generous dollops of guacamole and sour cream.