[UPBEAT MUSIC]
A mashup is essentially taking two different things
and putting them together to make one.
So not paying respects to each cuisine,
but actually uplifting them and saying, like,
let's play together and make this delicious, awesome,
new creation.
CROWD: Aw!
It's so exciting.
I'm Nyesha Arrington, and I'm a chef.
Food is my love language, and it is my passion in life.
So my greatest fantasy mashup?
For me, it's taco lasagna.
I love tacos and I love lasagna.
I love dishes that hug your soul.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Oh my gosh.
So the inspiration for this dish.
I started working in a fast food Mexican restaurant
right out of high school.
I remember seeing this idea of a Mexican pizza, which
is a global mash up in its own.
And I remember the first time I tasted it
and thinking, wow, this is impeccable.
So over time, I was thinking about it, thinking about it.
And I thought, wow, what if you apply these flavors?
But then the idea of lasagna, and then you
layer those dishes together into one sort of casserole?
Hence, the taco lasagna is born.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Let's get into it.
So what we'll do is start to sautée our aromatics
or our first layer of flavor.
Some garlic, some onions, some fresh Serrano chili.
Making sure we're on the right track here.
If the onions taste that good already,
we know we're heading in the right direction.
So from here, I'm going to add my ground beef.
It's a mixture of short rib and chuck.
They add amazing flavor and texture
when you get a sort of blend.
So what you want to do is start to brown the beef.
Color is flavor, so we want to take time to develop
the color in this ground beef.
So I add some taco seasoning.
It's really simple.
Toasty cumin, paprika, chilies.
Oh yes.
And now, we'll continue layering with our tomato product, right?
If this was a regular lasagna, this might be like a marinara.
And then we'll begin to fold these tomatoes
into the ground beef.
This meat is looking great.
Now, I'll add in my enchilada sauce.
I actually don't really take the time to make enchilada sauce.
You know, it has tomato paste, cumin, and smoked paprika.
Sometimes you just want to take some prepared
things and some ingredients that aren't prepared.
And you'll see it start to thicken right away.
Mm-hmm.
Excellent.
Next, I prepare my tortillas.
And I do that simply by lightly frying them.
See?
These little bubbles is what I'm looking for.
Once those start to come up, it starts
to brown a little bit around the outside, I'm ready to flip.
Perfect.
Now comes the fun part.
I build my taco lasagna.
I place a little bit of our same enchilada sauce.
I split it up, and I put a little bit on the bottom.
And that's to lubricate this pan, right?
And then I dip the tortillas into the enchilada sauce.
And I kind of create a base layer.
Think about lasagna, right?
This layer would be your pasta.
But instead, we're using tortillas.
And then I kind of spread out some delicious refried black
beans.
Add a little bit of the ground beef.
Now, we'll go in with a little bit of cheese.
I love to use a mixture of cheddar cheese
and Monterey Jack cheese.
That Monterey Jack gives a beautiful tanginess and sort
of flavor balance in this dish.
[BELL DINGS]
So now, we'll go in with a layer of scallions.
These are my favorite.
And then we repeat.
What I'm thinking about is creating layers of structure,
keeping in mind my lasagna North star at all times.
It's starting to come together.
And for this last layer, what I like to do
is place the scallions over top, and then
just a few dollops of sauce.
This is going to go into the oven, 375,
for about 25 minutes.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
[BELL DINGS]
Oh!
Wow, this is amazing.
Check out these layers.
I mean, really, actually is it a taco?
Or is it a lasagna?
It's both.
[LAUGHS]
So I love to use like, sour cream, or some crunchy iceberg
lettuce, and some beautiful fresh radishes for crunch.
And just to really drive home that kind
of Latin, Mexican flavors, I will garnish
with some cilantro leaves.
The moment of deliciousness.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Mm.
Wow.
So good.
This fight is taking me on a journey.
I'm tasting these kind of like, layers of spices,
and cumin, and delicious ground beef.
It's not spicy at all, just a lot of chili flavor.
And the amazing, robust enchilada
sauce, and that delicious sharp Monterey Jack
and cheddar cheese.
And it's very exciting on my palate.
Equal parts taco and lasagna.
It works.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]