Pie with minced meat "Corn"

Pie with minced meat "Corn"

Ingredients

• Corn grits - 1.5 tbsp.
• Chicken fillet - 250 g
• Onion - 1 pc. (medium)
• Tomatoes - 2 pcs. (medium)
• Canned corn - 140 g (small jar)
• Cheese (hard or semi-hard) - 150 g
• Fresh dill - 30 g (or dried - 1 tsp)
• Fresh basil - 30 g (or dried - 1 tsp)
• Cream - 80 ml (10-20%)
• Vinegar - 60 ml or to taste
• Salt - to taste
• Black pepper - to taste
• Vegetable oil - optional for frying
• For the bechamel sauce:
• Milk - 400 ml
• Butter - 50 g
• Flour - 1.5 tbsp.
• Nutmeg - 0.5 tsp or to taste
• Salt - to taste

Directions

1. We start by making a very thick corn porridge. Pour 1.5 cups of corn grits (namely, grits - coarse corn) into a saucepan, pour 3 cups of cold water, salt to taste, kindle a fire under the pan a little more than average and cook a thick porridge, stirring constantly. The thicker the porridge becomes, the lower the fire under the pan so that the porridge continues to thicken and not burn. We need porridge so thick that in the end it becomes difficult to stir it.
2. We lay out the finished porridge in the form in which we will bake the dish. We tamp well, level and leave to cool.
3. We cut one medium onion or two small ones into half or quarter rings. Pour boiling water over the onion so that it is all covered, and add about 60 ml of vinegar (any), mix - the water should be very acidic. We leave to cool. This is how we pickle the onion - it will be the main highlight of the whole dish, so by the amount of onion, proceed from how much you love pickled onions :)
4. While the kettle has not cooled down, we cut the peel of two medium tomatoes crosswise and pour boiling water over them for a couple of minutes. Sometimes this is enough for the skin to peel off easily. And sometimes you need to douse it with cold water. After these manipulations, remove the peel from the tomatoes.
5. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes.
6. For the meat layer of the casserole, we take a bunch of dill (30 grams), cut only the greens and put them in a blender. We leave the stems, for example, for cooking broth. We also cut and fold the same bunch of basil there. Fresh herbs can be replaced with dried ones - 1 tsp each. or to taste.
7. One large chicken fillet (I have 250 g) is processed, cut, put in a blender.
8. Add 80 ml of 10 or 20 percent cream. Salt, pepper and make minced meat out of it all.
9. Then you can proceed in two ways. We will have minced meat in the very middle of the casserole. If it is put there raw, then the baking time will be about 40 minutes, and all the chicken juices will soak the layers of the casserole. The end result will be juicy. But the minced meat can be pre-fried: then it will not be so juicy, the baking time will be reduced to 15-20 minutes, and the minced meat will not stick together the rest of the layers.
10. If you decide to fry, then fry. If not, then proceed to the manufacture of bechamel sauce.
11. In a frying pan or saucepan, melt 50 g of butter over low heat: the butter should melt, but not boil.
12. Add 1.5 tbsp. flour. Mix well and fry in oil for several minutes at a slight boil.
13. Remove from heat and add 400 ml of cold milk in portions, stirring well and rubbing all the time so that no lumps remain.
14. We return the container to the fire and cook with constant stirring until thickened, but not strong. Nutmeg, which, like flour, tends to fall into lumps, I prefer to add in the middle of cooking, when the sauce is still liquid, and it is easier to stir the nutmeg. I add it not a pinch, but half a teaspoon so that its taste and aroma can be felt in the dish. I also add salt to taste. The finished sauce can be covered with a lid.
15. We give the oven the task to warm up to 180 degrees and proceed to the assembly of the casserole.
16. We take the cooled corn porridge out of the mold and cut this cake in half in thickness. That is, two cakes with a diameter of 21 cm should be obtained. If the cakes fall apart when cut, do not get upset - this will not greatly affect the final result.
17. The form does not need to be washed - we will immediately fill it with the same cakes. Spread half of the bechamel sauce on the bottom of the dish.
18. We lay the lower half of the cashew cake on it. If it fell apart, then just lay out the bottom of the form with its fragments :)
19. If you decide to use raw minced meat, then spread it on the cake and spread evenly. If fried, then pour it on the cake and distribute evenly.
20. From above we lay out corn from a small jar - 140 g. Without liquid.
21. Spread chopped tomatoes over corn and spread evenly.
22. Drain the liquid from the onion container and spread the onion on the tomatoes.
23. Salt, pepper and cover with the remaining cake or its fragments.
24. Drizzle with the other half of the sauce.
25. We put in a preheated oven for about 40 minutes (or 15-20 if the minced meat was fried). If your form is filled to the top and there is a risk that something will boil out of it, then either put the form in some kind of tray in the oven, or put it on a wire rack, and place the tray a level lower.
26. While the casserole is in the oven, grate 150 g of any cheese on a coarse grater.
27. After the indicated time, we take out the casserole, sprinkle it with cheese, return it to the oven and grab it from above in convection mode. If there is no convection, then, based on the characteristics of your oven, determine how long before the end of baking you need to sprinkle the casserole with cheese so that it turns into a crust.