Serves 4-5
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
3 T vegetable or canola oil
4 medium-size (8-inch) flour tortillas (although corn should work too)
1 cup onion, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ # ground beef
½ fresh jalapeno or ⅓ cup canned chopped green chilies
2 t ground cumin
3 t chili powder
1 ½ cups chopped/crushed tomatoes
¼ cup tomato paste
¾ cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 t salt
1 cup corn kernels, drained and rinsed
2 cups rough-chopped spinach leaves
½ cup green onions, sliced
1 ½ cup (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
¼ cup sour cream, to top, optional
Method
Heat the oven to 400°F.
Coat a 9-inch springform with nonstick spray. This is the vessel you will build your torte in.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the tortillas, one at a time, until crisped and browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels and set aside to cool.
Heat the remaining 1T oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, ground beef, garlic, jalapeno pepper (if using), cumin, chili powder, and and cook until you can smell the spices and the onion is softened and the beef is almost fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with the 1/4 cup of reserved juice and the tomato paste, then stir in the beans and add the salt. Let the meat mixture simmer until everything is hot, about 5 minutes. Add the corn, spinach, and stir until the spinach has wilted and everything is well blended and hot, about 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper as necessary. Add the green onions and cook for one minute.
Place 1 tortilla in the prepared cake pan. Spread ¼ (just eyeball it) of the bean and vegetable mixture evenly over the tortilla, then sprinkle ¼ cup of the shredded cheese evenly over the top. Repeat with 3 more layers, ending with the last of the bean mixture and shredded cheese on top.
Bake the tortilla stack until it is hot throughout and the top is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. You can run it under the broiler for extra color on top, if you wish. Remove it from the pan, by carefully opening the springform sides.
Move torte from springform bottom to a cutting board and cut it into wedges using a sharp knife and serve it with a spatula or better yet a pie server. Sprinkle the top with cilantro, if desired, and serve with sour cream and/or salsa on the side, if you like.
