Stacked Chicken Tostadas

Name: Stacked Chicken Tostadas
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients: 1 onion, halved; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste; 5 cups water; 1 1/2 pounds (about 5) boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 2 bay leaves; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced; About 1 cup red wine vinegar; 12 flat tostada shells, packaged or homemade; 1 avocado, pitted and chopped (see Cooking Notes, page 10); 1 plum tomato, chopped; 1/4 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, chopped, plus 6 sprigs for garnish; 4 limes, 1 juiced and 3 quartered; Salt; 1 head bibb or romaine lettuce, shredded; 1 1/2 cups black beans (page 78), or canned, drained; 1 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese; 1/2 cup Mexican crema, homemade (page 102) or store-bought

December 9, 2011

One of the best characteristics of the Mexican kitchen is that many recipes are an assembly of ingredients and often use up leftovers. This is one such recipe. If you think of a tostada as an edible plate, you will realize the endless options for creating them. A meal is usually made up of two tostadas, which I like to stack because placing them side-by-side looks a bit awkward on a plate. And remember, tostadas are usually eaten with your hands!

Recipe notes

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