Mexican Spicy Beef Tortilla -

Mexican Spicy Beef Tortilla

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 fresh red chilli, seeded and sliced
350g/12oz rump (round) steak, cut into small cubes
15ml/1 tbsp oil
225g/8oz/2 cups cooked long grain rice
Beef stock, to moisten
3 large wheat tortillas

For the salsa picante

2 x 400g/14oz cans chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, halved
1 onion, quartered
1-2 fresh red chillies, seeded and roughly chopped
5ml/1 tsp ground cumin
2.5-5ml/½-1 tsp cayenne pepper
5ml/1 tsp fresh oregano or 2.5ml/½ tsp dried oregano
Tomato juice or water, if required

For the cheese sauce

50g/2oz/4 tbsp butter
50g/2oz/½ cup plain (all-purpose) flour
600ml/1 pint/2½ cups milk
115g/4oz/1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Details

Serves: 4

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Make the salsa picante. Place the tomatoes, garlic, onion and chillies in a food processor and process until smooth. Pour into a small pan, add the spices and oregano and season with salt. Gradually bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 1-2 minutes, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. The sauce should be of a thick pouring consistency. Dilute with a little tomato juice or water as necessary.

2. Make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute. Add the milk, stirring all the time until the sauce boils and thickens. Stir in all but 30ml/2 tbsp of the cheese and season to taste. Cover the pan closely and set aside.

3. Mix the onion, garlic and chilli in a large bowl. Add the steak cubes and mix well. Heat the oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the meat mixture for about 10 minutes, until the meat cubes have browned and the onion is soft. Stir in the rice and enough beef stock to moisten. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4. Pour about a quarter of the cheese sauce into the bottom of a round ovenproof dish. Add a tortilla and then spread over half the salsa followed by half the meat mixture.

5. Repeat these layers, then add half the remaining cheese sauce and the final tortilla. Pour over the remaining cheese sauce and sprinkle the reserved cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden on top.

COOK'S TIP:- You can use any type of beef for this dish. If braising or stewing steak are used, they should be very finely chopped or even minced and the bake should be cooked for an extra 10-15 minutes.

Energy 798Kcal/3360kj; Protein 41.7g; Carbohydrate 92g of which sugars 17.4g; Fat 31.4g of which saturates 16.7g; Cholesterol 115mg; Calcium 515mg; Fibre 3.7g; Sodium 554mg

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