How can I preserve the crispiness of tortillas in a tortilla casserole?
Today I made a casserole based on tortillas (basically nachos but with more ingredients and in a casserole dish). Besides tortillas, I've added a mix of vegetables (tomatoes, chilli peppers, paprika and avocado) as well as minced meat which I roasted with onions and bread. I prepared a sauce consisting of sour cream and cheese and mixed everything, except for the tortillas, together.
I then laid out a tortilla layer, added a layer with my meat and vegetable mix and so on until my casserole dish was full. Everything went into the oven for a short time (15 minutes) and while it tasted delicious, the tortillas were a tad too soft so that I had to use a fork. I hoped to achieve a casserole where my "filling" was juicy and creamy while the tortillas were crisp in order to make a meal that can also be eaten just with your hands.
Is there a way to make my tortillas chip more crispy? I thought about preheating them thoroughly and for a long time to remove every last bit of liquid they have. Would this make any difference? Are there other ways to preserve their crispiness without altering my recipe too much?
For reference, they don't need to be as crispy as right out of the bag. The degree of crispiness should be high enough that I can conformably eat them with my hands without having to worry to drop stuff that's on a tortilla.
1 answer
These are the easiest ways I've found to keep things crisp if they're going into a dish where they might absorb liquid. This applies to other things too, not just tortillas.
- Pre-bake. Bake your tortillas (or whatever you're using) until they've crisped up. They don't have to be totally dry, but the point is to remove the liquid that they're going to absorb in the dish anyway.
- If your diet and dish allows, brush or dip them in beaten egg. The egg creates a barrier - sticky enough not to be absorbed itself and also prevent the liquid in the dish getting through. It's not foolproof, but it's generally pretty good. You can also use milk, though it's not quite as good.
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