Tostadas con Chorizo
By Bill Dwyer
This traditional Mexican dish is a favorite at our house. Tostadas can be made using meats other than chorizo, of course –or no meat at all. One tostada makes a good lunch, Two tostadas make dinner.
Ingredients:
- 4 small corn tortillas
- 1 small tin of refried beans
- 6-8 oz chorizo con chili
- 1 cup grated jack cheese, such as Monte Rico
- 4 tbsp natilla
- 4-5 lettuce leaves, washed, dried, and shredded
- vegetable oil
For the salsa:
- ½ medium-size tomato, finely diced
- ½ medium-size onion, finely diced
- ½ avocado, finely diced (optional)
- ½ cup minced fresh cilantro
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground coriander seed (culantro)
- juice of ¼ lime
- salt, to taste
- hot sauce or minced chipotle peppers, to taste (may be omitted if your chorizo is spicy)
Directions:
- Mix all of the salsa ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Refrigerate. The salsa can be made in advance.
- Remove the casing from the chorizo and fry it in its own fat until well-done, chopping it into smaller and smaller chunks with the edge of a spoon or spatula as it cooks. Cover and reserve
- Pour ¼ inch of vegetable oil into a small skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot enough, place a tortilla on the surface of the oil using tongs. Flip the tortilla over frequently with tongs, frying until crisp. (The oil will stop bubbling when the tortilla is crisp). Place on paper towels to drain. Repeat with each tortilla.
- In a small pot, heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Add the refried beans and stir over low heat until the beans are heated through.
- Spread each tortilla with a thick coating of refried beans and put them on plates. Cover each tortilla with a layer of chorizo, then a layer of cheese. Add a generous layer of salsa, and top with a heaping tablespoonful of natilla. Sprinkle with shredded lettuce and serve.