Mexican Lasagna with Black Beans and Corn (makes 8 generous servings)

I thought that I might periodically list some of our favorite recipes. This is one from my friend Sandy. Though it requires a lot of work, it is worth it!


Mexican Lasagna with Black Beans and Corn (makes 8 generous servings)

Cooking oil spray
5 large 10 inch flour tortillas
1 ½ cups frozen yellow corn kernels
1 (15oz.) can black beans
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with mild green chiles
1 large (15oz.) can tomato sauce
1 ½ tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sugar
1 large egg
16 oz. regular sour cream -low fat will curdle when cooking. I have used - turns out fine.
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 bunch green onions
½ cup sliced black olives

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking oil spray. Set aside.
Stack the tortillas on a cutting board and slice through them lengthwise into 3 strips each. (The strips will not be uniform because of their circular shape. This is ok.) Set aside. Pour the corn and the black beans into a colander and rinse with warm tap water to begin defrosting the corn and rinse the beans. Set aside to drain.
In a small bowl, stir together the tomatoes with their juice, the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and sugar. Spoon about half the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Cover the sauce with five of the tortilla strips (it’s fine if they overlap some.)
Break egg into a medium mixing bowl, and beat with a whisk or fork until foamy. Add the sour cream and 1 cup of the cheese. Stir to mix well. Spoon half of the sour cream mixture evenly over the tortilla layer and spread it with the back of a spoon. Scatter half of the corn and black beans over the sour cream mixture.
Place five more tortilla strips evenly over corn and black bean layer. Top with remaining sour cream mixture and remaining black beans and corn. Place remaining tortilla strips over the dish. Pour remaining tomato sauce mixture over tortillas and spread it evenly to moisten all of the tortilla strips.
Cover dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. While the dish bakes, rinse and trim the green onions. Slice the onions thinly using all of the whites and enough of the tender green tops to make a ½ cup. Set aside. If using black olives drain and slice as well.
When the lasagna has baked 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and uncover it. If it is hot and bubbly scatter the green onions evenly over the dish. If using the olives scatter them evenly over the dish too. (If the lasagna is not hot and bubbly return it to the oven for 5 more minutes before scattering the onions and olives.) Return the dish to the oven uncovered for 5 more minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and scatter the remaining cup of cheese evenly over the dish. Return uncovered to the oven and bake until the cheese melts about three minutes.
Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes. Slice into squares and serve.

Notes: For a spicer dish you can use diced tomatoes with jalapenos. Do not use light or fat free sour cream because it will curdle during baking. You can also add a cup of diced cooked chicken along with the black beans and corn.