It’s no surprise that where we live shapes our families and the recipes we pass down – the very way we gather around the kitchen table. The culinary traditions of the places we call or have called home have a HUGE impact on our personal journeys.

I’m from Texas, but I didn’t grow up there. I have lived there a few times and LOVE the farm to market way of cooking. I miss when I’m not there and have a difficult time acquiring the necessary ingredients to re-create the family recipes that have been handed down over the years.

That said, life goes on and we do our best to make substitutions that work well enough to recreate those recipes. Think of Pastel Azteca as a Mexican style lasagna, where the sauce is a smooth salsa; corn tortillas are substituted for the pasta, chicken or pork instead of traditional beef for the protein, roasted green chiles for the tomatoes and both crumbly as well as melty cheeses instead of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Mexican recipes are a lot like Italian recipes – layer after layer of flavor and slow cooking to get the right depth of those flavors.

PASTEL AZTECA Servings: 8 servings
SAUCE
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed
4 dried guajillo, colorado or ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 cups FRESH cilantro
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tomato puree
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 sprig fresh epazote (optional)
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons avocado oil

• Add the dried chiles to a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Cover the bowl to let them rehydrate. 

• Heat a grill or cast iron pan over medium high heat.
• Char the onion and garlic cloves until they are nicely blackened. Add to a blender.
Add the rehydrated chiles to the blender, along with all the rest of the sauce ingredients, except for the lard.
• Puree extremely well.
Get the lard hot in a saucepan.
• Add the sauce and bring to a boil,, stirring constantly to incorporate the fat.
• Reduce the heat to a bare simmer and cook 10 minutes or so. Turn off the heat.

CASSEROLE & ASSEMBLY
18 6 inch corn tortillas
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound shredded chicken
6 poblanos, Hatch or Anaheim peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into strips
1 + 1/2 cup ELOTE corn kernels (see notes for recipe)
4 ounces cotija, crumbled
1 pound Oaxaca or mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Mexican crema, or sour cream (Darigold has a Mexican Sour Cream I like)


• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Butter a 9×13 casserole or baking dish.
• Ladle a thin layer of the sauce into the bottom.
• Layer the casserole with 6 tortillas.
• Spread some meat evenly over the top.
• Add the 1 cup of elote corn and strips of roasted peppers. 
Sprinkle a layer of cotija cheese, then crema, then shredded Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheese.
• Top with another layer of tortillas, a bit more sauce, meat, pepper and cheese.
• Finish with the remaining tortillas.
• Sprinkle with the remaining cotija cheese, drizzle some more crema, and sprinkle the last of the grated cheese over the top.
• Season with FRESH ground pepper and last of the corn.
• Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

NOTES & TIME SAVERS

• Keep in mind this is the full-on, Sunday supper version of pastel azteca, but here are some serious time-saving hacks for an equally tasty week night meal.
• You can use canned green chiles. Or even frozen. In August I buy Hatch chiles (they are only available for about a month a year) and roast them and portion them for freezing so I have some all year round. If you don’t know how to roast green chiles, here’s a great tutorial.
• I make elote corn and then cut it from the cob or better yet make esquites for this recipe. Elote and street corn are the same thing. The word elote means “corn cob”. It’s the seasonings that make all the difference. Esquites, also called elote en vaso means corn in a cup. These can be made ahead and frozen also. Recipes below.
• Literally any cooked meat will work, just make sure to chop or shred it small. Use a rotisserie chicken or left over carnitas. A HUGE time saving hack is using tamales (without the husks) and rolling them in the golden blend tortillas to layer at the bottom of the baking dish.
• You can use canned enchilada sauce, or even canned tomato sauce.
• If you have trouble finding crema, thin regular sour cream with a little buttermilk, milk or cream to get you closer to the real thing. 

OPTIONAL TORTILLA STEP

• Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a pan until it hits about 350°.
• Fry the tortillas for about 30 seconds or so, JUST enough for them to stiffen up a bit, but not enough so they are stiff like tostadas. You want semi limp.
• Cool tortillas on a cooling rack.

ELOTE aka MEXICAN STREET CORN
4 ears corn, husked (see notes)
2 tablespoons DUKE’s mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Mexican crema or sour cream
½ cup Cotija cheese , freshly grated, or queso fresco (see notes)
chili powder , or tajin, to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges
FRESH chopped cilantro , for garnish, optional

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Add the ears of corn and cook 10 minutes or until tender.
• Brush corn with melted butter and grill corn on medium heat until slightly charred.
• Mix the mayonnaise and Mexican crema together.
• Spread a thin layer all over the corn ears. 
Sprinkle generously with cotija cheese and the desired amount of chili powder.
• Serve garnished with cilantro, and with a lime wedge on the side for squeezing on top.
• For this recipe cut the corn from the cob in the end.

NOTES:

• White corn is traditionally used in Mexico, but yellow corn easily substitutes.
• Cotija cheese is traditional, but Quesa Fresca will substitute in a pinch.
• If using fresh husked corn, leave stem end attached as something to hold on to while eating. Otherwise stick a long wooden skewer into the end of the corn before grilling or coating, to make them easier to hold and eat.

ESQUITES

1 tablespoon salted butter , softened
1/3 cup diced onion
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded, diced (optional)
1/3 cup homemade chicken broth or water
3 cups (4 cobs), husked, cut from the cob
FRESH ground salt and pepper, to taste
5 tablespoons DUKE’s mayonnaise
5 tablespoons Mexican crema or sour cream
1/3 cup Cotija or queso fresco cheese, shredded
chili powder, Tajin or hot sauce, to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges

• Add butter to large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
• Once melted, add onion and pepper, sautéing until tender.
• Add broth or water and corn. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender (about 5-8 minutes).

• Season with black pepper and a little salt then divide among 4 cups – for making Pastel Azteca I just make one big bowl.

• In each cup, add 1 heaping teaspoon of mayonnaise and 1 heaping teaspoon of Mexican crema (or sour cream), stirring to combine.
• 
Sprinkle generously with grated cheese and chili powder, to taste.
• Serve with lime wedges to squeeze on top.


NOTES:

• White corn is traditionally used in Mexico, but yellow corn can be substituted. You could also substitute 3 cups frozen corn.
• Cotija cheese is traditional, but if you can’t find it, substitute Quesa Fresca will substitute in a pinch or FINELY grated Parmesan cheese.