Filling lasagna with a southwestern kick...

We're getting ready for a big cool down this week - they even say there could be an early frost in a few days! Woo! I wanted to make a comfort food type dish for dinner tonight and lasagna is one that we have recently become quite fond of since we started our journey into trying different foods. Though I confess that I never ate it growing up. While we have done several before, the filling for this one is quite different.

Inside the layers of this Black-Bean Lasagna is a combination of jalapenos, onions, crisp red bell peppers, garlic, fresh tomatoes, sour cream, cilantro and of course black beans. We first roasted the jalapenos under the broiler and removed the blackened skin to add a depth of smoky-hot flavor. Seasonings in the form of cumin and ground coriander bring a southwestern spunk to the filling. This lasagna is not as saucy as some because a chipotle salsa is used in lieu of a tomato/marinara sauce. The salsa I used was pretty chunky and thus it was hard to get a semi-even layer while trying to spread it out, so I might puree it just a little next time. With 4 jalapenos and chiptole salsa, I was expecting this to be almost too hot - but it was actually not too bad! While it was still quite spicy, it was a very enjoyable heat. I got 8 hearty servings from this, so I can't wait to have this for lunch tomorrow! A very time involved recipe, but worth the effort!

Recipes
Black-Bean Lasagna