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Pastel Azteca (Mexican chicken casserole)

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Pastel Azteca

Sometimes I open my fridge and freezer and am surprised at the amount of food I hoard without even realizing. If you didn’t know me better, and most don’t really, you’d think I was preparing to give birth to very hungry eighteen year old triplets. Or quadruplets, all boys. Well now you do know that’s not happening, at all. For the record, I live alone and eat most of my meals by myself, with the exception of my weekly brunch and dinner with friends or the times when my on/off boyfriend of the last five years happens to be around.  So how on earth do I buy so much stuff in the first place?

This pastel azteca is a result of said moments, when I found 8 or 9 frozen vegetable packets. Do I add a few each time I go to the supermarket without realizing? I’m baffled at my own habits.
And I wonder, does that apply to other aspects of my life? I have a creepy feeling it does.
Let’s not find out though. I´m not in the mood for some soul cleaning right now.
A new vintage Monday and some new, and hopefully interesting, finds to share with you.
.Pastel Azteca

Since food always comes first in this blog, here are some very interesting recipes that I would want to tackle asap:

Peach Doughnuts from The Ginger Bread Lad
Coconut Baklava from Diethood
Blackberry Farm Griddle Cakes (gluten free) from Bon Appetit
Carnitas from Smitten Kitchen with Homemade Tortillas from Juanita’s Cocina (my first time making both)
Guacamole Rice from Foxes Love Lemons
Stuffed Buttenut Squash from Elizabeth’s Kitchen (it’s pumpkin season here!)
I’m taking part this coming friday in Food Revolution Day, started by Jamie Oliver in an attempt to spread essential cooking skills and the need for good food around the world. I will be posting bread recipes in both my blogs, a quick cheddar bread from Dorie Greenspan sponsored by Mardi of Eat.Live.Travel.Write, and a beer bread recipe from Jamie Oliver’s first book in my spanish blog, sponsored by Noelia of ArNordica.
About that thing called social media, which probably haunts your days and nights, or at least a few hours of every day. My favorite animated posts usually come from Gina’s blog, and this is one of her best.
Continuing with social media, the world is now open for comments, and some are just… just read on.
I’m not a parent (we already covered that in the first paragraph), so commenting on parenting issues is not my area, but really guys, really??
.Pastel Azteca
Going through my grandmother’s recipe notebooks, I found a casserole dish, made by Chelo, her very Mexican good friend, that I ate for the first time years ago, and still remember how much I liked it. It had to do with the flavor, new to me, of mexican tortillas, the real thing. Her friend visited once a year, brought her tortillas in the suitcase and invited us for a dinner every trip, which she cooked at my grandmother’s house, the same house I live in today. She was big and warm and liked to hug you tight,
smearing your clothes with her trademark violet and blue eyeshadow I will never forget.
She and my grandmother enjoyed their time together in the kitchen so much it really came through in her dishes. We always ended up having such fun and happy get-togethers that I guess when you cook with love and gratitude it really does show in the resulting food and ambience. Chelo made a mean pastel azteca. I only tasted hers, so I really don’t know how traditionally accurate it is, but it was so good. A simple layered tortilla chicken casserole worth sharing with all of you wonderful people who take the time to read this blog. I stayed faithful to the original recipe but added some frozen peas, because I had so many, as I was telling you earlier.
.Pastel Azteca
I think one of the best parts of this dish is how the mixture of cream that binds it all together, soaks some of  the tortillas while other stay crisp. It’s crunchy creamy. And it reheats so well. You know how it is around here, me living alone, I ate this for three days.
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Pastel Azteca

Pastel Azteca

  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Main dish
  • Cuisine: Mexican
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Description

This recipe is very adaptable. The only addition to the original recipe are the peas, but you can layer other vegetables like cooked carrots, asparagus or pumpkin. Add cheese too between layers, not just on the top.The tortillas were originally fried before assembling the casserole, but I just crisp them in the oven since I don’t want the extra oil. I’d rather use more cheese or cream.If you want to add minced jalapeños, mix them with the vegetables.

Scale

Ingredients

  • 5 large flour tortillas
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 2 medium)
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken 
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Cayenne pepper to taste or chili powder
  • 3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated asiago cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350º.
  2. Butter a pyrex dish, about 7×12 inches.
  3. Heat tortillas for 5 or 10 minutes, until they loose their softness and begin to crisp. Torn them in medium, uneven pieces. Roughly divide pieces into 5 parts.
  4. Defrost peas and corn by boiling water, adding them and leaving them until the water breaks into a boil again. Drain and divide into 4 parts.
  5. Put 1 part tortillas on the bottom of the dish. Scatter on top 1 part of vegetables and ½ cup tomato chunks.
  6. Keep layering in the same order and same amounts. You will have a layer of tortilla pieces on top. Scatter both cheeses evenly.
  7. In a bowl mix cream, milk, mayonnaise, and add salt and pepper to taste. Add cayenne or chili powder, from ¼ teaspoon to 1 Tbs, depending on your taste.
  8. Pour this mixture evenly and slowly on top of the casserole. You can lift a few parts of the layers to let it seep in between.
  9. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbly.
  10. Let cool 5 minutes and serve.
Pastel Azteca

Paula Montenegro

A baker for more than 30 years, I love testing recipes and sharing the best of what I find. I'm mostly self-taught with some time spent in baking school. I believe we can all be bakers and cooks with the right instructions and simple ingredients. If you're craving easy recipes with amazing results, you're in the right place. Let's get into the kitchen!

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Comments

  1. Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says

    May 18, 2013 at 16:44

    I love that you found this in your grandmother's notebooks. A perfect place to find the best comfort food. This looks just wonderful!

    Reply

  2. Kathy says

    May 16, 2013 at 12:00

    This sounds wonderfully delicious…and something my husband would eat! A family friendly dinner.

    Reply

  3. Oishii Treats says

    May 15, 2013 at 08:39

    I have the same issue with leftovers, I just forget about them and push them towards the back of the fridge. I love the ingredients in this dish I actually have everything in my fridge right now 🙂

    Reply

  4. Andrea_TheKitchenLioness says

    May 15, 2013 at 07:50

    Paula,this would certainly be very well received at my house and it would probaly keep them "unhungry" for a little while – seriously, this looks like a perfect family-style dinner, fabulous use of a few delicious hoarded or left-over ingredients! Very creative, Paula!

    Reply

  6. Laura Dembowski says

    May 15, 2013 at 02:34

    My freezer is always packed. I love finding things I forgot about and eating them up. And I'll have a dozen of those peach doughnuts when you make them please 🙂

    Reply

  7. Bam's Kitchen says

    May 15, 2013 at 00:22

    Delicious! I bet it tastes even better the second day and that is a good thing if you are serving yourself. This sounds like a good make a head dish and then can freeze in individual portions and take it out when you need a quick meal.

    Reply

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