2000s Recipes + Menus

Chicken Tostadas
Serves6 (main course)
- Active time:45 min
- Start to finish:45 min
July 2008
Once a way to make use of stale tortillas (by toasting and/or frying them), tostadas are so good that it wasn’t long before people simply started using fresh tortillas. After biting into these layers of flavor—crunchy, creamy, luscious—you’ll see why.
- 1 medium white onion
- 1 tomatoes, quartered
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 or 2 fresh serrano chiles, stemmed
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 6 large radishes, halved and sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided
- 1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely shredded (4 cups)
- 6 (6-inch) corn tortillas
- 1 (1-lb) can refried beans, heated
- 1 avocado, halved, pitted, and peeled
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- 1/4 cup crumbled queso añejo (aged white cheese, also called cotija) or ricotta salata
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Accompaniments:
sliced serranos; lime wedges
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Preheat broiler.
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Cut half of onion into 3/4-inch wedges, then chop remainder. Toss onion wedges, tomatoes, garlic, and whole chiles with 2 Tbsp oil in a 4-sided sheet pan, spreading in 1 layer.
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Broil about 4 inches from heat until softened and charred, 10 to 15 minutes.
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Meanwhile, toss together lettuce, radishes, chopped onion, and half of cilantro.
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Purée tomato mixture in a blender along with one or both roasted serranos (to taste) and 1 tsp salt until smooth (use caution when blending hot foods). Transfer purée to a bowl and stir in chicken, remaining cilantro, and salt to taste.
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Heat remaining 1/2 cup oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Fry tortillas, 1 at a time, turning once or twice and pressing with tongs to immerse, until golden brown, 45 to 60 seconds per tortilla. Drain briefly on paper towels, then transfer to plates.
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Spread tortillas thickly with heated refried beans, then top with chicken mixture. Slice avocado over tostadas and dollop with crema.
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Mound lettuce mixture on top and sprinkle with cheese.
Serve with: Margaritas
- Keywords
- shelley wiseman,
- quick kitchen,
- poultry,
- mexican,
- latino