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
  • Accompaniments:

    sliced serranos; lime wedges
  • Preheat broiler.
  • 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.
  • Broil about 4 inches from heat until softened and charred, 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, toss together lettuce, radishes, chopped onion, and half of cilantro.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Spread tortillas thickly with heated refried beans, then top with chicken mixture. Slice avocado over tostadas and dollop with crema.
  • Mound lettuce mixture on top and sprinkle with cheese.
Serve with: Margaritas
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