Stacked tacos! These are made with layers of tortillas, Pork Carnitas (Mexican Shredded Pork) or Chicken, Corn and Tomato Salsa and melted cheese. Fun, fabulous and easy. If you make this with leftover Pork Carnitas then it's super quick too! Serves 2 very hungry people or 4 dieting people. Note: This stack is made with meat that is juicy and moist so all that is needed is a dollop of sour cream to finish it off. If you are concerned your meat is too dry, I suggest having a side sauce to add moisture.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Cuisine: Mexican - My Way
Servings: 2- 4
Calories: 622cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
8small tortillas, corn or flour (around 6" / 12 cm rounds)
3cupsshredded Pork Carnitas or Quick Mexican Chicken(see below)
1tbspolive oil
1 1/2cupsgrated cheese(I used Monterey Jack. See Note 1 for other suggestions)
Salsa
1 1/4cupscorn kernels, fresh, frozen or canned (drained) (I used frozen)
1tbspolive oil
1punnetcherry tomatoes, diced (or 2 medium tomatos, deseeded and diced, around 1 1/2 cups (Note 2))
2shallots / scallions, green part only, sliced
1/2lime, juice only (add more or less to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
Quick Mexican Chicken
1.2 lb / 600g chicken thigh fillets, skinless and boneless, cut into 1cm / 2/5" slices (Note 3)
1tspgarlic powder(or add 1 minced garlic clove into the oil in the fry pan)
2tspcumin powder
1tsppaprika
1/2tsporegano
Pinch of cayenne or chili powder(for heat - adjust to taste)
1 1/2tspsalt
Black pepper
1lime, juice only
1tbspolive oil
Garnish and toppings
Sour cream
Cilantro / coriander
Jalapeños, finely chopped
Avocado, diced
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
Prepare either the Pork Carnitas or Quick Mexican Chicken.
Place the corn tortillas in the oven (I do it directly on the shelf) and bake for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, just to make them a bit stiff but not browned.
Place a tortilla on a baking tray. Scatter 1/6th of the Pork Carnitas or Quick Mexican Chicken on the tortilla and top with Salsa (reserve some for Topping) then cheese. Place another tortilla on top and repeat, then again (so you end up with 3 layers of meat. Place the 4th tortilla on top. I don't put anything on it, but you could sprinkle some cheese if you want.
Repeat with remaining 4 tortillas.
Bake for 10 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted (it does not take long).
Remove from oven.
Top with remaining Salsa and Toppings of choice (I used sour cream, avocado, jalapeño and coriander/cilantro)
Salsa
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the corn and sauté for a couple of minutes until charred to your liking. (This step is optional)
Allow to cool slightly, then toss with remaining Salsa ingredients.
Pork Carnitas
Defrost (if using frozen), then heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large fry pan over high heat.
Add Pork Carnitas and cooking until the underside is golden brown (do not flip - Note 4).
Remove from pan (scrape up all the brown bits) and set aside.
Quick Mexican Chicken
Combine all ingredients other than the oil in a bowl and toss to combine.
Heat the oil in a large fry pan over high heat.
Add the chicken and sauté until browned and cooked through.
Remove chicken from the fry pan. Allow to cool then either roughly chop into smaller pieces or use a fork to "shred".
Notes
1. Cheddar, tasty, gruyere, provolone dolce and other flavoured melting cheeses are also great. Mozzarella doesn't have enough flavour for my taste.2. I scoop the juice out of the tomatoes so the salsa is not too watery. Otherwise the tortillas get rather soggy while baking. To deseed the tomatoes, just cut in half and use a teaspoon to scoop out the watery inside. Just roughly is fine.3. I use chicken thigh fillets because I find breast too dry for this type of recipe. If you use a salsa dip style sauce to add "juiciness" to the recipe then you can definitely use chicken breast instead. But I suggest serving the salsa sauce after baking, otherwise it will make the tortillas too soggy when baking.4. Don't flip the pork carnitas when browning it. That way you get crunchy as well as retaining the juiciness of the pork.5. Nutrition per serving.