A Cook’s Tour of Mexico (1995) – Chilaquiles II / Tortilla Casserole
Zaslavsky, Nancy. A cook’s tour of Mexico: authentic recipes from the country’s best open-air markets, city fondas, and home kitchens. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995. P. 286. [TX716 .M4 Z37 1995]
By Dexter Zita and Nicole Reyes, undergraduate nutrition students at UTSA.
Chilaquiles II (from Inez Rodríguez del Agrio)
- 24 one-day-old corn tortillas
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups red tomato sauce
- ½ cup shredded “quesillo de Oaxaca,” stringy cheese, or mozzarella
- 2 Tablespoons fresh “epazote” leaves, if available
- 2 cups cooked and shredded, skinless chicken or 1 cup cooked and drained chorizo (optional)
- ½ cup crumbled ranchero cheese, dry cottage cheese, or farmer cheese
- 1 cup “Crema”, crème fraiche, or sour cream
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F.
- Stack 8 tortillas and cut through them into eighths (pie style). Continue with the rest. Heat the oil in a large skillet, fry the tortilla pieces and drain them on paper towels. They must remain chewy in the sauce so don’t let them get too crisp—the chewiness is essential to the dish.
- Mix the tortilla chips, sauce, shredded cheese, epazote, and optional meat.
- Immediately pour the mixture into a greased 3-quart shallow casserole and bake for about 20 minutes, until brown and bubbly.
- Scoop onto plates, topping each with a sprinkle of crumbled cheese and a spoonful of crema.
