Chipotle Fideo Cheese Bake

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220 °C. Blend the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chipotle with some of the chicken stock until smooth.

   Add in this stepRipe tomatoes 250 gOnion ¼Garlic cloves 1Chipotle peppers in adobo (canned) 1Chicken stock 105 ml

2. Heat the oil in a 20 cm ovenproof cast-iron or stainless pan on medium heat and toast the fideo for 4 min, stirring constantly, until deep golden. Toast it a little darker than for soup; that is where the nutty flavour comes from.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tbspFideo noodles (or thin pasta broken into 3 cm pieces) 140 g

   medium heat

3. Pour in the purée (step back, it spits) and cook for 3 min, stirring, then add the rest of the stock and the salt, stir once and cover. Cook on medium-low heat for 9 min, until almost all the liquid is absorbed and the noodles are tender. Stir gently only once halfway; too much stirring breaks the noodles and makes them mushy.

   Add in this stepChicken stock 245 mlSalt ¼ tsp

   medium-low heat

4. Dot the crema over the noodles and cover evenly with the cheese. Bake in the oven (oven) for 8 min, until the cheese bubbles and browns in spots and the noodles at the edges turn crisp. No ovenproof pan? Transfer to a gratin dish first.

   Add in this stepMexican crema or sour cream 3 tbspMonterey Jack or mozzarella, grated 80 g

   oven

5. The handle is extremely hot: always use oven gloves. Let it rest for 3 minutes, then top with avocado, jalapeño and cilantro and bring the pan to the table for everyone to scoop.

   Add in this stepAvocado ½Jalapeño, thinly sliced 1Cilantro leaves 1 tbsp