Rosie Makes Her Corn And Black Bean Tortilla Pie.

Youngest Hawthorne requested my world famous

corn and black bean tortilla pie

and I was more than happy to oblige.

I've blogged about this dish several times before,

but it's worth repeating.

Whenever I need something to take to a picnic

or a neighborhood block party,

this is my go-to dish.

And it's the first dish gone.

Everyone loves it.

I mixed 1 can of corn

with about an equal amount of cooked black beans.

One cup dried beans = 2+ cups cooked = slightly more than a can

I always use dried beans and cook them myself.
I don't like canned beans.
If you must use canned,
be sure to wash off all the slime.

Dried beans looking better now?
All it takes is about 40 minutes to cook black beans.
And no, you don't need to soak those beans overnight.
Simply rinse off the beans,
add to salted water,
bring to a boil,
and reduce to a low simmer.
Simmer about twenty minutes,
then rinse off the beans,
refresh the water,
bring back to a boil,
and reduce to a simmer.
Taste test in about 10-15 minutes.
You want your beans al dente, not al mushe.

Ticky likes my moments of ADD.

Next, I chopped a little red pepper, green pepper and onion.

Don't you love pretty food?

Mix well.

Now here's where you can mix and match however you want.

If you would like to add in some sliced black or green olives,
go right ahead.

Diced yellow and orange peppers would be nice too,

along with some chopped red onion, scallions, or sliced jalapenos.

Cilantro would be a nice touch also,

but all my plants just went to seed

and I only have teeny seedlings in the garden now.

 Hello, Junior.

I decided to go with minced red jalapenos.

Grate the cheeses.

I have cheddar, Monterey Jack, and mozzarella.

Let's build a tortilla pie.

Lay down one tortilla

and top with bean and corn mixture

and a handful of cheese.

Keep layering until you run out of ingredients.

Here's a very important tip:

When putting the corn bean mixture on the tortilla layers,

give it extra filling on the outside of the tortilla.

If you make the layers even,

or worse, have the filling higher in the middle,

then the pie will become dome-like

and sloppy looking when it cooks.

Extra filling on the outside keeps the tortilla stack even.

Brush top and edges of the pie with melted butter.

Save a little of the bean mixture

to put on top to give a hint of what's inside.

Sprinkle top and edges with hot paprika and cumin.

Top with grated cheese.

And if you wanted to put some

sliced tomatoes, onions, or jalapenos on top,

 go right ahead.

Ready for the oven.

350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Until cheese is melted,

everything is heated through,

and the tortillas are golden.

My grapes and two figs the birds didn't get.

We bought the bowl in Taos, New Mexico.

That's a pretty pie.

Lots of big flavors here.

You know you want some.