Mexican Style Chilli Chicken Lasagne

I was curious to see if I could use flour tortillas instead of a pasta layer in this lasagne dish, as I always seem to have so many of them in the cupboard!. It seems you can. And the great thing is - you can have more layers than pasta as its thinner. And it soufflés up beautifully.

Here is a simple lasagne with flavours of Mexico. You can use any chipotle paste you like, but I make this Chipotle in Adobe (recipe here) and blend it with a stick blender. Its a perfect chilli sauce to keep in the fridge and lasts for ages! I made this Mexican style lasagne last night and served it with jalapeno poppers, sweet potato wedges and a crisp salad. Delicious!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, diced
2 tbsp. oil
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
400g tin black beans
400g tin chopped tomatoes
chipotle paste (add as much as you want)
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried cumin
fresh coriander, to garnish
salt & pepper
pack of flour tortillas
grated cheese (I used cheddar and parmesan - not very Mexican I know!)

For the sauce

300g mascarpone cheese
splash of milk


Method:

Add the oil to a large saucepan and heat. Add the onions and pepper to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and diced chicken. Cook on a high heat, stirring until the chicken is cooked and beginning to brown. Turn the heat to medium and add the rest of the ingredients apart from the tortillas and garnish. Partially cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 30 minutes to thicken.

Find a round casserole dish and use scissors to cut the tortillas to fit inside (if needed). Make up the sauce by heating the mascarpone cheese and adding enough milk to loosen the cheese to make a pouring consistency.

Layer the chicken chilli with the sauce, tortillas and cheese ending with the sauce topped with cheese.

Bake in a 200 C oven for 35 minutes until browned, bubbling and souffled.

Mediterranean Roast Lemon Sole

I can't remember having ever eaten lemon sole before. In fact saying that, I don't think I've had dover sole either.. and not for any good reason either. I saw some whilst food shopping and decided to give them a go and bought two medium sized ones.

This is a simple recipe that lets the fish speak for itself, with a tasty Mediterranean style dressing of olives, peppers and garlic. And its also not fried, so its super healthy.

Ingredients:         (serves 2)

2 whole lemon sole, gutted
handful black pitted olives, sliced
1 red pepper, roasted for about 45 mins
6 spring onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
juice of 1 (small) lemon
salt & pepper


Method:

Trim the lemon sole by removing the head and, using scissors, cut all the fins off. Wash the fish under cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Make deep diagonal cuts into the darker skin side and place both fish in a roasting tray, cut side up.

To make the dressing, peel as much skin off the roasted pepper as you can and dice. Put into a bowl and add the spring onions and olives. Then add the oregano, vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. Mix well and spoon over and around the fish.

With the oven set at 200 C, roast for about 15-20 mins. Serve with crusty bread or new potatoes. Delicious!