Tortilla Pie

I've given up the alliterative titles.  After reading an article in which alliteration was thrown around like commas in a fifth grader's summer vacation essay - contributing absolutely nothing to the body of work - I decided I would eschew the alliteration.  Or, at least, cut back significantly.  Besides, I couldn't think of anything that would work with "Tortilla Pie".

I found this recipe while browsing through the Everyday Food book at the bookstore.  It seemed easy enough, and the picture was so pretty!  When my dad bought tortillas for some random reason, it was a sign that I should make this pie.

 The original tortilla pie, as crafted by the experts of MSLO and not by me.

 The pie I made.  While still delicious, it lacked a little something.  Maybe it was the ill-trimmed tortillas, maybe it was not putting the bean filling or enough cheese on top, but mine was not quite so pretty. 

The original recipe calls for trimming of tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan (i.e. to not look hideous), but I decided to mostly do away with that.  The only springform pan in the house is square and reasonably large.  I only trimmed some of the sides (poorly, I might add) so the tortillas would lie flat, throwing the scraps between the layers.  One of the comments said this pie could be made in a deep 10inch pie pan to avoid the trimming of the tortillas.  In any case, I don't see why smaller tortillas couldn't be used.  Just pick a tortilla size to fit the pan.  There's also a similar recipe on the site for a tortilla pie with meat, but I decided to stick with the vegetarian one.

I did make a few changes to the recipe based on the comments:  I doubled the amount of cumin added to the pie because 1) I love cumin, and 2) a few readers reported the pie as being somewhat bland.  I also kept in half of the seeds and ribs of the jalapeno chile to keep the pie mildly spicy.  I'm sensitive to spicy things, so this was actually kind of spicy for me, but whatever.  Keep more of the seeds and ribs for more heat, fewer for less.  Also, be careful when handling the jalapeno.  Wear a glove when taking out the insides, or wash your hands really, really well after handling and before touching an eye or other body parts that have mucous membranes attached to nerves.

All the delicious pie ingredients.

If you use beer, which I would recommend for the flavor, use a vintage can of Natural Lite.  This can was supposed to be consumed by April 6, 2007.  My old roommate actually preferred vintage Natty Lite to the original.

Chopped ingredients.  If you have a cheese grater, I would recommend using that over cutting with a knife.  It's the same volume of cheese in the end, but grated cheese is easier to spread evenly over the tortillas.

Beer, beans, and onions.  That's all one needs for good Tex Mex food.

Once the beer evaporates, add in corn and green onions.

So there was supposed to be bean filling on top of the tortillas with the cheese.  Whoops.  I'm also pretty sure that was not 1 cup of cheese on there, anyway.

Tortilla Pie
(from the Everyday Food book or the Martha Stewart website)
Supposedly serves 6, but ended up serving 3 for me.  Maybe I'm just a fatty.

• 4 10-inch flour tortillas (Again, just pick a size to fit the pan.  Or use corn tortillas.  It's all good.)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, minced  (I kept the ribs and seeds of half of the jalapeno for a moderate heat.)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and pepper
• 2 15oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 12oz of beer (I used a can Natural Light that had been sitting in the back of the fridge for years) or 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 10oz package of frozen corn, still frozen
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
• 2 1/2 cups, or 8 oz, of shredded cheddar cheese (I believe I used a block of cheddar jack)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  If need be, trim the tortillas to fit the deep dish pie pan or springform pan.
Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion, garlic, jalapeno, and cumin.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook over the medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the black beans and the beer (or water) to the skillet.  Increase the heat until the mixture boils, and then reduce the heat back to medium and let simmer.  Keep simmering until the beer is almost completely evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir in the corn and scallions, and remove from heat.  Season with more salt and pepper.
To assemble the pie, put a (trimmed) tortilla down.  Add 1/4 of the bean mixture and 1/2 cup of the cheese.  Top with another tortilla, another 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup of cheese.  Top with the third tortilla, another 1/4 of the beans, and another 1/2 cup of the cheese.  Place the last tortilla on top of the tower, along with the last 1/4 of the beans, and remaining 1 cup of cheese.  Put in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the filling is hot, 20 to 25 minutes.  If you use a toaster oven like me, it doesn't take that long, so watch it.  Unmold the pie and sprinkle some finely chopped scallions on top for garnish.  Cut into wedges, as befitting a pie, and serve. 

So, mine's not as good looking as Everyday Food's.  It was still delicious.  I would make it again.