They had me at the photo! Though there are some similarities, this is not just another ‘cheesy-bake’ casserole. And whatever you want to call it, this is not just another mish-mash of the same old Tex-Mex ingredients. Maybe a brave, new mish-mash?
Take a good, long look at the photo, above. Can you figure out what it is that makes your eye stick to the image like a 5-year-old’s tongue to a frozen lamp post?
Not just another corn chip ‘shuffle’
It’s not any single ingredient. Nor is it the way any ingredient or combination of them is presented. I think it’s the way some typical Tex-Mex supper casserole staples are teamed and layered. No matter what night of the week you serve it, the team is going to feature some crucial and creative ros-ter substitutions…
“Instead of using tortillas, I’m layering my seasoned ground beef, cheese, and tomato-sour cream mixture on top of tortilla chips for added texture,” recipe author Lindsay Funston shares. “I’m calling this a taco bake because of its Tex-Mex flavors, but you can think of it more like a nacho bake.”
See? Not even its creator can quite pinpoint what she’s come up with!
My observations
There’s nothing particularly demanding about how the recipe goes together, either. But take a gan-der, and you’ll see what I mean.
Rather than the expected soft-corn or flour tortilla base, this dish relies on layers of crispy-baked corn tortilla chips – jumbo so-called restaurant-style chips without any special flavour dredge. Just basic salt.
But there’s also the ‘sleeper’ star ingredient – Fire-Roasted Tomatoes – and the fresh garlic. And the unexpected ‘premium’ two-cheese blend. Or the additional spices (cumin and cayenne) called for on top of the standard ‘chili powder’.
I DO know that the suggested serving presentation, with sour cream and fresh Pico de Gallo on the side, makes this dish special for me all by itself.
My take
Never forget that this recipe – like many of the others I spotlight in this space – is your to make your own. Tinker with the amount and composition of the chili powder and other spices called for. Right off the bat, I’d swap out the fire-roasted Tomatoes and use sun-dried ones.
One special feature of this recipe is the not-unique, but not common, addition of sour cream directly to the sauce/filling mixture. It adds a whole new dimension of favour to the ensemble.
And, while I love the way this ‘bake’ looks, I can’t help thinking it needs just a little (?) more 2-cheese blend on top.
Go ahead and make this unique-yet-familiar-seeming ‘taco bake’ – and see if you can come up with the ideal name for it…
~ Maggie J.