I was soo craving this dish and just waiting for a chance to make it. And voilà – family dinner night came along. Perfect occasion and audience for this mexican inspired casserole. Give me beans, corn, salsa, some spinach and , yes, ok you guessed it – maybe some sweet potatoes – and I am perfectly happy ( and my stomach, too). This casserole definitely goes on the list of one of my “comfort food” dishes. I hope, it will for you as well. If you don’t have a large family to feed, cut the recipe in half and bake it in an 8 x 8 baking dish. This dish keeps well in the fridge for a few days and tastes great eaten as left overs. I actually think, it tastes better the second day, when flavors have melded together. Top with a few slices of avocado and a little more salsa after reheating your portion. Yum!

Serves 6-8

Prep time: 15 minutes   Cook time: 30 minutes ( need baked sweet potatoes, if using)

 

Ingredients

 1 ½ to 2 16-oz jars of salt-free salsa (your preference)

1 bag(12) of  fresh corn tortillas (no-salt–added, no-oil added)

2 15-oz cans of no-salt-added pinto beans, drained

2 medium sweet potatoes, baked & peeled

2 cups of frozen fire roasted corn, thawed

1 tsp cumin

1 5-oz bag/box of fresh baby spinach

6-8 cocktail tomatoes, sliced

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375

• Mash drained (not rinsed) pinto beans in the food processor with a little salsa and cumin.
• Mash sweet potatoes in the food processor. If you do not have a food processor, use a potato masher or a fork. Make sure that ,both, the beans and potatoes are creamy.
• In the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish spread a little of the salsa to keep everything moist and from sticking
• .Layer as follows:
• 6 corn tortillas
• salsa, enough to cover all of the tortillas
• pinto bean mixture. An offset spatula or the back of a spoon is really helpful for even spreading
• 6 corn tortillas
• mashed sweet potatoes
• fire roasted corn
• spinach. Depending how tightly you pack the spinach, you will use ¾ to a full bag/box
• salsa
• sliced tomatoes

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Let sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

Depending how much salsa you prefer, you will use 1½ to 2 jars. I use about 1½. I use a Fire Roasted Salsa from Trader Joe’s, which is salt-free. Make sure to check salt, sugar and no-oil content of your salsa.

When using canned beans, look for no-salt-added and a BPA-free liner. If not available, make sure to rinse beans. I don’t rinse mine for this dish, because a little bit of the cooking liquid makes the beans creamier.

If you cannot find fire roasted corn, use sweet yellow corn instead.

If you are absolutely not a fan of sweet potatoes, try the casserole without and use up all the spinach  and add another cup of corn.

 

 

Recipe adapted from www.jschumacher.org, Mexican Lasagna