Pastel Azteca
User Reviews
5.0
33 reviews
Excellent
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Prep Time
1 hr
-
Cook Time
mins
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Total Time
1 hr 20 mins
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Servings
8 servings
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Calories
637 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Lunch
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Cuisine
Mexican
Pastel Azteca
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Think of this as Mexican lasagna, where the sauce is a smooth salsa, corn tortillas instead of pasta, meat (or not), roasted green peppers, and both crumbly and melty cheese.
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Ingredients
SAUCE
- 4 dried guajillo, colorado or ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 prig fresh epazote (optional)
- salt
- 3 tablespoons lard or oil
CASSEROLE
- 18 corn tortillas
- oil for frying (optional)
- butter or oil for greasing the pan
- 1 pound shredded chicken or cooked ground meat
- 6 poblanos, Hatch or Anaheim peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into strips
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 4 ounces cotija, anejo or feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 pound Chihuahua, Oaxaca or mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema, or sour cream
Instructions
SAUCE
- Put the dried chiles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Cover the bowl to let them rehydrate.
- Get a comal, griddle, flat top or cast iron pan very hot, and char the quartered onion and the garlic cloves. You want them nicely blackened. When they are, chop roughly and put them in a blender.
- Add the rehydrated chiles to the blender, along with all the rest of the sauce ingredients, except for the lard. Puree well. If your blender is only so-so, you might want to push this through a sieve to remove any stray seeds or bits of skin. That's optional.
- Get the lard hot in a saucepan and then fry the sauce, stirring constantly to incorporate the fat. Drop the heat to a bare simmer and let this cook 10 minutes or so, then turn off the heat.
OPTIONAL TORTILLA STEP
- Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a pan until it hits about 350°F. Fry the tortillas for about 30 seconds or so -- enough to stiffen them up a bit, but not enough so they are actually stiff like tostadas. I start checking them at about 15 seconds. You want semi limp. Set the tortillas on a cooling rack.
BUILD THE PASTEL AZTECA
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Butter or oil a standard casserole pan, about 9x13 inches or thereabouts. lay down a thin layer of the sauce. Line the casserole with 6 tortillas. Spread some meat evenly over the top. Then add the corn and strips of roasted green pepper.
- Sprinkle a layer of cotija cheese, then crema, then shredded Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheese. Top with another layer of tortillas, then sauce, then repeat with the meat, vegetables and cheese. Finish with the remaining tortillas.
- Spread the remaining cotija cheese, drizzle some more crema, and sprinkle the last of the grated Chihuahua cheese over the top. You can add some black pepper here if you'd like. Bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown. Let the pastel azteca sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Keep in mind this is the full-on, Sunday supper version of pastel azteca. See below for time-saving hacks.
- You can use canned green chiles. Or frozen.
- If you don't know how to roast green chiles, here's a great tutorial.
- You can use canned enchilada sauce, or even canned tomato sauce.
- Literally any cooked meat will work. I used ground venison. Just make sure to chop or shred it small.
- I use frozen corn when fresh is not in season.
- Thin regular sour cream with a little buttermilk, milk or cream to get you closer to the real thing.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
637kcal
(32%)
Carbohydrates
52g
(17%)
Protein
35g
(70%)
Fat
34g
(52%)
Saturated Fat
16g
(80%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
4g
Monounsaturated Fat
6g
Trans Fat
1g
Cholesterol
83mg
(28%)
Sodium
1006mg
(42%)
Potassium
774mg
(22%)
Fiber
11g
(44%)
Sugar
13g
(26%)
Vitamin A
4979IU
(100%)
Vitamin C
16mg
(18%)
Calcium
202mg
(20%)
Iron
3mg
(17%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 637 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 637kcal | 32% |
| Carbohydrates | 52g | 17% |
| Protein | 35g | 70% |
| Fat | 34g | 52% |
| Saturated Fat | 16g | 80% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 4g | 24% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 6g | 30% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 83mg | 28% |
| Sodium | 1006mg | 42% |
| Potassium | 774mg | 16% |
| Fiber | 11g | 44% |
| Sugar | 13g | 26% |
| Vitamin A | 4979IU | 100% |
| Vitamin C | 16mg | 18% |
| Calcium | 202mg | 20% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
33 reviews
Excellent
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