Mexican Lasagna

First, prepare the meat filling for the Mexican lasagna. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the ground beef in it while breaking it up with a spoon for about 5 minutes. Then add in the diced onion, chiles and chipotle pepper slices and let them get soft and fragrant for a minute. Season and flavor the mixture with the salt, cumin and chili powder. Spoon in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and fresh cilantro and give everything a good stir, letting it simmer for 2 minutes. Then take the pan off of the heat and stir in the cream cheese.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Take a 9 x 13 lasagna pan and lightly grease it on the bottom with a little of the salsa. Then take 3 of the tortillas and lay them across the bottom to make the first layer. There will be round edges that come up the side of the pan, trim them away. You can freeze the trimmings, don’t waste them! Cut them up into little strips and crisp them up to go over soups or salads. Add half of the meat mixture, then 1/3 of the remaining salsa and a generous layer of the cheese. Repeat this for the next layer. Then add the last 3 trimmed tortillas on top, the last of the salsa and a very healthy amount of the cheese to top it off gloriously.

Bake the assembled lasagna for about 25–30 minutes to heat everything through and make the cheese bubbly and melty. Take it out and let it cool for a couple of minutes, then serve immediately with some extra fresh cilantro on top!