Mexican Scalloped Potatoes

August 12th, 2008 Posted in Recipes

This is my solution to too many potatoes.  I started looking into scalloped potatoes after an inspiring suggestion from a friend on twitter and ended up searching for baked dishes. I ended up here and felt inspired.

Here’s the result:

INGREDIENTS

“Ground Beef” (makes about 1 to 1.5 c.):

  • 1/3 of a brick of extra firm tofu, crumbled.
  • 1 healthy squirt of soy sauce or Bragg’s
  • 4 or 5 drops of sesame oil.

Everything else:

  • 3 potatoes sliced thinly, like chips
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 slice of red onion, chopped how you like it.
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped, minced or crushed.
  • 1 can of black beans
  • 2 c. of shredded cheddar.
  • 2 c. Salsa
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 dollop of red chili sauce (if you like it spicier)
  • some butter for frying and greasing the pan

Aside: I use un-salted butter for most recipes because I’ve read too much about processed foods. Also, animal fats are really quite good for you, despite what the food industry, nutritional studies and the government might have us believe.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350˚F.

The Sauce:

  1. Fry the onions and garlic in the butter until they are translucent.
  2. Add the “ground beef” and cook until it’s nicely toasted.
  3. Add the tomato, salsa, chili powder, cumin, red chili sauce and simmer for a few minutes to let the flavours do their thing.

The Assembly:

  1. Grease a 9″ by 9″ glass baking pan-thing (can’t remember what it’s called..)
  2. Add a layer of potato slices (half of the potatoes).
  3. Add a layer of black beans (half of the beans).
  4. Add a layer of the sauce (half again).
  5. Repeat 2 to 4 with the other half of everything.
  6. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake:

  1. At 350˚F for about about 60 minutes. Until the potatoes are done, the top is gold and the insides are all bubbly.

RESULT

Delicious.  Sounds really strange, but it’s super good. Really dense too. You won’t really need to eat too much.

TIP

Feel free to swap out the “ground beef” with ground beef.  It might even be better that way.  But don’t use too much or it won’t fit into the pan. Oh, and turn off your oven or your apartment will get really warm.

PHOTO