Baked Bean Tortilla Pie | Mains

Layers of baked beans, Southwestern style, with corn tortillas and cheese.

• 2 cups dried pinto beans (either soaked overnight, or covered with 3 times their volume in water, boiled for 2 minutes over medium heat, and left to soak away from heat for 3-4 hours).
• A generous handful fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp chile powder
• 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp epazote
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp chipotle puree
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp red chile flakes
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• juice of one lime
• small amount of oil
• 12 corn tortillas
• 2 cups grated jack cheese
• A good handful of extra chopped cilantro

Drain soaked beans. (The soaking liquid contains a lot of the compounds that make beans gas-inducing.) Put in a medium-sized saucepan with enough water to cover by one inch and add the cilantro, cumin, chile powder, oregano, epazote (an herb used to flavour and reduce gas-inducing properties), bay leaf, garlic and onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, covered for about an hour or until beans are soft enough to squish between fingers. Add 1 1/2 tsp of salt and cook another 15 minutes. Taste and add additional salt if needed.

Put beans in a bean pot or ovenproof dish with chipotle puree, sugar, chile flakes, raisins, vinegar and lime juice. Bake, covered, for about an hour. Taste and adjust seasons, adding more salt if needed. Beans often need a lot of salt; without it they forget their inherent deliciousness.  Remove lid and continue baking another 15 minutes to half an hour, until much of the liquid has evaporated and they reach desired consistency.

Put a small amount of oil in a skillet over high heat and put tortillas in, one or two at a time, sprinkled with a tiny bit of water. Cook briefly on both sides to soften; repeat until all tortillas have been warmed.

In a 9" casserole dish put a layer of beans, topping with a layer of grated cheese and about four tortillas, overlapping. Repeat, layering beans, cheese and tortillas until you have three layers deep. The top layer should be beans and cheese. Bake half an hour or so at 375 F, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Sprinkle with extra fresh cilantro, chopped. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole