Chicken Tostada's

Latin American inspired food is one of my favorite things to eat. I love finding different Mexican restaurants and seeing how much they differ from each other. I was upset to find out that there isn't one close enough to where I live to get my fix as often as I'd like. I've had to come up with my own versions of certain dishes just to satisfy my hunger for all the spicy goodness I love. To me tostada's are sort of like a layered salad on top of a crispy tortilla shell. Of course there is more to it then that. I like to layer mine with a homemade spicy red salsa, refried beans and shredded chicken. You can use beef, pork or leave out the meat all together if you'd like. 

1 large onion

1 lb tomatoes, quartered

3 cloves garlic, skins on

2 jalapeños or 1 Serrano

1/2 c plus 2 tbs veg oil

1 rotisserie chicken, removed from bone and shredded

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

shredded lettuce

refried beans

corn or flour tortillas

sour cream

shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Preheat your broiler. Meanwhile, cut the onion into quarters. Place three of the onion quarters along with the tomatoes, garlic and chilies on a sheet pan and drizzle with the 2 tbs veg oil, salt and pepper. Place under the broiler about 4 inches from the heat and cooked till softened and charred in places but not burnt.

Dice the remaining onion and set aside. Once the tomatoes are cooked, place everything into a blender or food processor (squeeze the garlic from the skins) and blend or pulse until everything is combined. Stir the chicken and 1/2 the chopped cilantro into the salsa and set aside.

Over medium high heat, heat the remain 1/2 c veg oil in a large enough skillet to accommodate your tortilla shells. Once the oil starts to shimmer, fry the tortillas, one at a time. Use tongs to help keep the tortillas immersed in the oil and make sure you turn them over once or twice so they cook evenly until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. 

To assemble the tostada's, spread a thick layer of refried beans on top of a tortilla, then top with chicken, and what ever remaining toppings you'd like: shredded lettuce, diced onion, cilantro, cheddar cheese and sour cream.