Tortilla Pie — Perhaps the Best Thing…Ever

When I first start learning how to cook in Nov./Dec. 2005, one of the first recipes I tried was this fabulous tortilla pie recipe from Allrecipes.com

You can get the recipe here:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Seven-Layer-Tortilla-Pie/Detail.aspx.   I’ve made a lot of changes to the recipe, many inspired by other Allrecipes.com enthusiasts, and I really recommend you use them:

• Instead of the two cans of pinto beans, substitute ONE can of refried beans.
• I generally put in 3-4 cloves of garlic to punch up the taste, instead of the 2 called for by the recipe.
• I also double (at least) the amount of salsa I throw in.
• The recipe is REALLY bland without some spice, and I would recommend throwing in 2-3 medium jalepenos, minced.  If you want more spice, swap out some of the regular sauce and put in some spicier salsa as well.  Mix the jalepenos in the black bean mixture.
• You should also put into the oven the tortillas for a few minutes before making the pie itself.  If you don’t get the tortillas a little dried out before you put the pie together, the pie will be too soggy and not as fun to eat.  So, just throw the tortillas directly onto the oven rack for maybe 1-2 minutes to firm up a bit.
• Even though I use a springform pan now instead of a standard pie pan, you still can’t get more than 5 layers of pie so readjust your proportions so that you use up all of your ingredients in the fewer number of layers.  Trust me, the pie is still delicious with 5 instead of 7 layers.  If you are using a standard pie pan, I would recommend even going down to 3-4 layers because it might be too hard to manage 5 layers of goodness in a regular pie pan.
• Also be sure to put some vegetable spray on that pan so it doesn’t stick.
• The last time I made this, I also chopped up 3-4 green onions and added them to the black bean mixture.  If you’re a fan of the onion, I would highly recommend doing this.
• Another last tip is to make sure you do bake it for the 40 minutes that it recommends.  The goal is not just to melt the cheese, but also to get the inside fully warmed as well.  Trust me, it’s much better when it’s hot rather than just a little warm.  This also goes for when you warm up the leftovers — I would defer to over-warming, rather than under-warming in the microwave.

Enjoy!