Saturday Mex

As always we wanted something tasty last Saturday. And we didn't really want to buy a lot of stuff. From time to time we try to use what we've got instead of buying a lot and then have to throw stuff away. Still, we had to buy some stuff, but nothing expensive. The really yummy dinner contained as a starter our favourite, Salsa Fresca, inspired of the recipe from Eat the Heat by Jonas Borssén, our favourite chef. Then we had some kind of mex gratin with fried tortilla slices, cheeses and sausage. I'll now introduce you to my own chef, Matli, who will contribute to these posts from time to time with the actual recipes of what we eat :-)

OK, here we go. The Salsa Fresca is a quite basic tomato based salsa. You will need the following ingredients for a small bowl of salsa:

4 small ripe tomatoes (or two plum tomatoes), diced
2-3 spring onions, finely sliced
1 large garlic clove, roasted and mashed
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (don't remove the seeds)
1 tbsp of olive oil
Juice from half a lime
A bunch of cilantro
Some salt

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and put in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes. We usually eat this as a starter together with tortilla chips. But it also works well to accompany various mex or tex-mex dishes.


For the tortilla pie, you will need the following for two large servings:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
300 g ground pork
1-2 sliced spicy sausages, e.g. chorizo
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sherry
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4-5 tortillas (I had planned on using corn tortillas, but only wheat tortillas were available in our store)
oil for frying
1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup creme fraiche

The pie is served with a sauce, for which you will need the following ingredients:
1 cup small tomatoes
2 tbsp water
1/2 vegetable stock cube
1 jalapeno, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove
small bunch of parsley
1/4 cup creme fraiche

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the pork and garlic. Stir until the meat has browned. Stir in the sausages, oregano, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Cook for 4 more minutes while stirring. Then add sherry sugar and salt. Stir for 3-4 minutes and then remove the pan from heat.

Cut the tortillas into strips (2 cm (3/4 inch) wide). Pour the oil into a frying pan and heat to 190°C (375°F). Fry the tortilla strips until crisp and golden brown.

Spread half the pork and sausage mixture in a baking dish. Top with half the tortilla strips and some grated cheese. Then add dollops of creme fraiche. Repeat the layers. Bake for 20-25 minutes.



Meanwhile, make the sauce. Put all the ingredients except the creme fraiche in a food processor or blender. Process until fairly smooth. Put into a saucepan, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Finally stir the creme fraiche into the sauce and add some salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce on top of the pie and serve immediately, sprinkled with some parsley.