Food - Drink
Pastel Azteca Is The Mexican Casserole You Need To Try
By CLARICE KNELLY
Every culture has beloved dishes that don’t really make it onto restaurant menus due to their strong association with home cooking. In Mexico, one of those dishes is pastel Azteca.
Pastel Azteca means Aztec cake or tart, but it's a savory dish that is thought to have originated in Northern Mexico, and combines European and Indigenous ingredients.
Nicknamed “Mexican lasagna,” Pastel Azteca has layers of corn tortillas, shredded chicken, onions, corn, garlic, roasted poblano peppers, Oaxaca cheese, salsa, and heavy cream.
The dish can also feature turkey, salsa verde, or other veggies, but always has corn tortillas as the main layering ingredient, since they don’t get soggy when properly prepared.
A crucial step for pastel Azteca is to fry your tortillas until flavorful yet flexible. Build the casserole in alternating layers of tortillas, meat, veggies, dairy, and sauce.
Top your casserole with a final layer of tortillas, cheese, and sauce, and then bake. Once finished, let cool and serve with avocado, cilantro, and cotija cheese.