Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

I am happy to say that I made my first new non-pizza/pasta Lent meal and it was a success. I have a ton of cookbooks and decided that I would find a recipe from one of those to make first before I hunt for a recipe on the web. I am also excited to say I got it from my friend Martha Stewart's Everyday Food: Great Food Fast cookbook. One thing I loved about this cookbook is that every recipe has a picture of the dish. It is one of the things the made me want to make this dinner for tonight.

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

Serves 6

Prep: 25 minutes

Total: 1 hour

4 flour tortillas (10-inch)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
12 ounces beer or 1 1/2 cups water
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeño, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add beans and beer to skillet, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Fit a trimmed tortilla (To trim a tortilla: Center the bottom of the springform pan on top of a tortilla. Trace around it with a paring knife. Remove excess.) in bottom of springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Unmold pie; sprinkle with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges.

Notes: Serve this brightly colored, layered tortilla pie with salsa and sour cream on the side. You can assemble the pie ahead of time, then bake it just before serving.

My Review: I have to say at first I didn't think that this would be satisfying as a meal for Mike and I. So I had bought a couple of extra stuff in case it wasn't and we were still hungry after eating it. I was SO wrong because it was so filling. Even while I was putting the pie together I was still a little concerned about it being enough for us. I really liked the taste of the pie and wouldn't really change anything in the recipe. Mike said it needed more cheese but other then that he liked it very much. One of the best parts is that I put this together while Jacob was taking his nap and stuck it in the refrigerator. I never know when Mike is coming home from work and thought this would be the best thing to do. I put it in the oven for about 20 minutes...all the cheese was melted on top but it was still sort of cold in the middle. I was super hungry and couldn't wait any longer but the next time I think I would put it in the oven for 30 minutes.

Oh the only changes I made in the recipe was I used a quarter of the jalapeno just incase Jacob wanted to try some. He loves black beans, corn, cheese...really everything this pie has and I was afriad too much jalapeno would be bad for him. I also forgot to buy scallions so I used a red onion instead which I thought went well with this recipe. Next time I might add some cilantro on top if have some on hand. This might also make a great appetizer...maybe make it in a mini form or use muffin cups and do a couple of layers instead of four layers.