Lasagne and enchilada: Italian and Mexican fusion

Welcome to little chef’s apron! Before we start on with any recipe today, I have a very exciting announcement to make!! 

LITTLE CHEF’S APRON just hit 200 followers!!!!! This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my readers and whoever is reading this right now. I am so gratefulto everyone and for all the lovely comments I have received…. This is a very happy moment for me and again, I am thanking you….

Now, for today’s recipe, we will be making lasagne enchiladas! I am sure you have heard of lasagne and tortillas. I thought about the recipe if we would combine both of them. I would make everything from scratch, even the tortillas…. So read and cook along! This recipe serves 4 people

Tortilla prep time: 10 minutes

Resting time: 30 minutes

Rolling time:15 minutes

The tortillas:

Ingredients:

½ cup cornmeal(makki ka aata in hindi)

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp cold butter

Hot water as needed

Directions:

First add the three types of flour together in a bowl and then the salt. If you want, you could skip the whole wheat flour and replace it with cornmeal but I like to use a combination of these flours. Add in the butter and give it a good mix by rubbing the butter with the flour.

This would ensure that the cornmeal is easier to work with and is not sticking a lot. Then add in the hot water as needed. Hot water adds good binding to the dough. Use a spoon together to get it together first because it could be very hot.

Then knead a very soft dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then, take a small ball out of it and dust it with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin and use flour as it sticks. If it is sticking too much then, you can roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper.

Once it gets thin enough and doesn’t tear, place it on a pan for fifteen seconds on high flame.  Then carefully, flip it and let it cook for another 15 seconds. After that remove it and transfer to a plate. The baking tray I am using requires 6 rolls so you can use them according to the size of the baking dish. 

The vegetables:

Grilling time: 5-7 minutes

Ingredients:

Seasoning as per taste( oregano, basil,salt ,pepper)

2 cloves garlic and a little bit of ginger chopped

You can use ANY VEGETABLES that you like. I am using,

Capsicum

Carrot

Onion

Mushroom

Directions:

First, fry the ginger and garlic in a tsp of oil. Then add in all the vegetables and give it a mix.

What we want to do here is to basically take out all the moisture and water of the vegetables so they don’t get released while baking. If they do, then the tortillas would not cook properly.

You will see something like this oozing out even though we didn’t add any water or oil. Make sure this is on high flame so that the vegetables can roast properly.

Add in the seasonings and switch off the flame once they start sticking a little.

The red sauce:

Cooking time: 3-4 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tbsp red chilli sauce

¼ cup tomato puree

1 tsp butter

¼ cup water

Seasonings as per your taste

Directions:

Add all the sauces in a pan with the butter and cook it with water.

It would thicken in no time and add in the seasonings and mix well. Remove it in the baking dish and spread it evenly.

The white sauce/ cream sauce:

Cooking time: 3-4 minutes

1/3 cup fresh cream

3-4 tbsp milk

½ cup grated cheese( you can use parmesan, processed  cheese or cheddar cheese.)

Seasonings of your choice

Directions:

First. add cream to a pan and let it melt. Then, add the milk and stir until combined. Also add in the cheese and seasonings.

Stir continuously until the cheese is melted and the sauce is ready, lets move on to layering.

Layering :

Layering time: 5 minutes

Rolls time: 5 minutes

Baking time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

3 to 4 tbsp pasta sauce

2 cups grated cheese(I am using cheddar and processed)

Directions:

First, take a tortilla and place some vegetables in the centre. Add a tsp of sauce and place the roll in the dish. After all the rolls are done, spread the white sauce evenly

Then, add the cheese on the top and bake in a pre heated oven for 25 minutes at 190⁰C.

Serve hot and slice the rolls!

FOR TODAY’S TOPIC:

Let us talk about the difference between lasagne and enchilada and what types of fillings can be used:

Lasagne-

It has pasta sheets as one of the layers. It also has red sauce and cream sauce both. It can have any type of filling. And usually, parmesan is used as cheese .

Enchilada-

It has tortilla wraps and no cream sauce. It only has red sauce and mainly a vegetable filling. Usually, mozzarella is used as cheese here. The dough is also different. For lasagne sheet, the dough would be of only all purpose flour. But, tortillas have a combination of flours, most importantly, cornmeal.

The different fillings can be:• Grilled chicken• Spinach and corn• Scrambled eggs• Baby corn and zucchini• Broccoli and shrimp• Rosemary and thyme flavoured• Pok choi, cabbage and leeks

There can be end number of stuffings. These are just a few ideas. I hope you guys liked this recipe and do let me know in the comments. Feel free to ask any doubts or give suggestions. I am always pen to feedback and be sure to show me your creations.