Make the Frito pie that keeps on giving
Scissor open a snack-size bag of corn chips, spoon in chili, cheese and sour cream and you have a walking taco, a.k.a. Frito Pie. The birthplace of this personal meal in a bag is unclear — possibly Mexico, Texas or even a Santa Fe five-and-dime lunch counter. Regardless, Frito Pie has become part of America’s culinary vernacular. Quite simply, this is a joyous food delivery system.
I’ve eaten my share of Frito Pies, and while I struggle to achieve the right ratio of chips to chili, I’ll never turn one down. Still, nothing else had satisfied like that delightful combination of crunch, spicy heat and sweet corn — until I began to dream of a baking sheet filled with those tastes.
My Tex Mex Frito Slab Pie starts with a delicate crust of corn bread and layers on chipotle-laced chili, plenty of sharp cheese and crushed Fritos Corn Chips. This is a family-friendly meal fit for a potluck, a neighborhood gathering or an after-soccer get-together. It’s economical and easy to serve as well. It takes less than an hour to gather the ingredients (many of which may be on your pantry shelves already), preheat the oven, make the chili topping, stir together the corn bread, assemble and bake.
While it’s not a complex recipe, it does involve some keys to success. Use a sturdy baking sheet, the type with sides. I tried making this pie in a disposable aluminum foil pan. Disaster; this is a heavy pie. On another occasion, I doubled up on the foil pans, but then the corn bread didn’t crisp up.
Chili is the most flavorpacked component in this mix, so it needs to be well seasoned — to the very edge of over-seasoned, in fact. The corn bread crust mellows the pie’s overall taste, as does the cheesy layer, so that’s why you need an assertive chili here. So go spicier and just slightly more salty, remembering that this pie is topped with a car- pet of crushed chips.
Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix substitutes for homemade corn bread without a bit of shame. It takes two 8.5-ounce boxes’ worth to cover the baking sheet, but when pouring the batter into the pan, leave a little back in the mixing bowl or risk an overflowing and abundant corn-bread crust.
Set out this pie with suitable toppings such as salsa, pickled jalapeño, cubes of avocado, diced red onion, lime wedges, sour cream and a favorite hot sauce. Serve a crisp, crunchy salad on the side.
This is also an easygoing recipe, substitution-wise. I regularly use ground turkey instead of the beef-pork combo, and turn to pinto beans for a vegetarian option. Toss a handful of pickled jalapeños in with the grated cheese.
Try nacho-flavored chips instead of plain corn chips. Add frozen corn kernels to the crust batter. A layer of roasted poblanos can be snuggled between the chili and the cheese.