Chipotle Tostadas
I’ve had this section for quite a while, and yet I never get around to putting anything into it. Well today that changes!
For those of you who don’t know me, I love to cook. I am a food network addict, my favourite shows being those with Alton Brown or Bobby Flay. I also enjoy Unwrapped and Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I’ve been cooking since even before I left my parent’s place, and I’m one of those guys who never measures anything, and hardly ever makes the same dish the same way twice. So I decided I’d start throwing out the basic ideas here.
The other night I made some tostadas. Tostada really just means toasted, but I took the meaning that you’ll see in many tex-mex restaurants. That is, a small tortilla, toasted as the base of the dish.
What you’ll need:
Small tortillas, about 6″ diameter, often labeled as Fajita Style
1 Large Avocado
1 Large Onion
2 Small tomatoes (or one large, you pick)
1 Clove Garlic
1 Large chicken breast (boneless skinless)
1 can of Pinto Beans
1 Jalapeño
Juice of 1 lime
Some cheese of your choice
Olive Oil
Cumin
Chili Powder
Chipotle Pepper Flakes (you can substitute most any crushed dried pepper)
Salt
Pepper
Prep work:
Toast some tortillas for your base, you can do this on a grill, skillet, or in a broiler. Be careful with the broiler, as you could easily overcook or catch them on fire.
Finely dice the Jalapeño and garlic
Chop the Avocado, Onion, and Tomatoes
Cut your chicken into thin strips.
Cooking:
Mix the pinto beans and Jalapeño with some oil in a skillet, fry and mash into a good refried bean consistency. Set aside.
Mix and mash half of the onion, your avocado, one of your tomatos, the lime juice, and garlic into guacamole. Salt and pepper to taste, set aside.
Pre heat oven to 250.
Put a very small amount of oil in the skillet, heat until the oil just starts to smoke. Toss in your chicken strips. Immediately season with cumin, chili powder, chipotle pepper, and a bit of kosher salt. I stir fried these, but that’s not necessary. The end result will be similar, you can sear the outside, or just heat evenly. Turn the heat down and add the rest of the onions, let them simmer a bit till translucent.
Assembly:
Take your toasted tortillas, place them on a cookie sheet (or flat oven pan,) and spread some of the bean mix on them, a thin layer is all you need, make sure to cover but don’t heap it on.
Now evenly distribute the chicken strips among them, along with the cooked onions.
Sprinkle your cheese of choice onto these, put them in the oven. We only need to cook them long enough to melt the cheese, and help the bean set up a bit more firm, so you’ll just have to keep an eye on them.
Once cooked, top with the guacamole, and chopped tomato. You can use shredded lettuce or cabbage if you like, but I don’t think that really adds to the dish.
Enjoy!
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