Black Bean Lasagna

My cute and funny friend, Georgia Farmer, gave me this recipe for Black Bean Lasagne. It's supposed to be made with lasagne noodles, but we have this huge stack of wheat tortillas, so we're using those instead. We tweaked the sauce a little, too, by adding a spicy salsa. This lasagna was so damn delicious. This really should make 6 servings, but we went for the more popular four glutton sized servings. I'm taking leftovers for lunch tomorrow and I'm living for the moment.

Preheat the oven to 350.

4 burrito-size tortillas

Sauce
Roast:
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
2 jalapeno peppers
Cool, peel, and dice.

*If you can't be bothered by all that, you can buy roasted red peppers in a jar, and you can use canned jalapenos, but it won't taste as good. The smoky taste of the roasted peppers is a key element.

Saute:
1 medium purple onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Drain and dice one 28-oz. can of plum tomatoes. Heat in a medium saucepan. Add one 7-oz. can of Herdez Salsa Mexicana. Add the previously mentioned roasted and sauteed ingredients along with:

2 1/2 cups cooked black beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
zest of one lime
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander

Heat the sauce through and set aside.

Make the cheese filling:

8 oz. grated extra sharp cheddar
1 cup whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup of Crema Mexicana ( this is like Creme Fraiche. You can substitute sour cream if you can't find Crema Mexicana).
Mix this all together.

Assemble:

Spray an 8" x 8" square pan with olive oil spray.
Sread 1/5 of sauce on the bottom.
Layer like this:
tortilla (cut it up to make it fit), cheese mixture, sauce
Do this 3 more times, then top with 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Bake for about 45 minutes, let cool for 10 minutes if you can stand to wait (we couldn't).