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The Casserole You Have Never Made
by Jen Hirt, from the November 2002 newsletter
The thing about vegetarian chef and cookbook author Mollie Katzen (of Moosewood
fame) is that in order to create some of the meals in any of her many books,
she must have had a really odd thought process. It's a characteristic I'm glad
she embraced - her recipes have taught me everything I know about cooking. I've
been a Moosewood devotee since my first cool summer job - cooking at an outdoor
college campus in Michigan.
Recently, I was faced with constructing a meal with a random assortment of stale tortillas, a few eggs, some buttermilk on the edge of rebellion, and a dusty can of chile peppers bequeathed to me months before by a friend who was moving. Naturally, I resorted to Katzen's Still Life with Menu cookbook, a thematically organized arrangement of excellent entrees. And no joke, no exaggeration, I found a casserole specifically designed to alleviate the guilt associated with stale tortillas. It's tasty and a little bit strange, and it reflects Katzen's delightfully creative cooking mind. It's also pretty flexible - toss in additional treats like thinly sliced tofu, some cooked beans, or that last zucchini from the garden. I recently did a version with leeks and sharp cheddar, and it was savory.
Chilaquile Casserole
Serves 4-6
12 corn tortillas (usually small)
OR
6 flour tortillas (usually quite large)1 medium chile pepper, chopped and seeded,
OR 8 ounces canned chiles
2-3 cups grated cheese - your choice of type
4 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter or oil a 2-quart casserole dish. Tear half your tortillas into bite-sized pieces and spread them evenly in the dish. (You can mix corn and flour tortillas, but shame-shame if you have stale corn and flour tortillas at the same time!) Spread half the chiles and half the cheese on top. At this point, add any extra ingredients - thinly sliced tofu is nice, and so are shredded leeks or beans. Tear the remaining tortillas and layer them on top. Then top the casserole with the rest of the chiles and cheese.
In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and the four eggs. (You can omit two egg yolks if you, like me, fear this aggressive yellow cholesterol.) Add salt and pepper to taste - just a dash of each works well. This makes custard - pour it evenly over the casserole. I was doubtful at first that 'custard' would be appropriate for a casserole, but I think it's safe to say that Mollie Katzen knows what she's doing.
Bake for 35 minutes, uncovered. The custard softens and fluffs the tortillas, which is why it's fine to use stale tortillas - no one will know. The cheese melts around the chiles and any other goodies you have added. The top turns crusty and golden. As is the tendency of casseroles, it smells incredible as it cooks - the perfect lunch or light dinner for the oncoming winter.
Jen Hirt is an MFA student in creative writing at the University of Idaho.
She's working on a collection of essays about greenhouses.
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