25 min · Vegan · Main course · For beginners
Tostadas
In English: Tostada Shells
For 2 servings · US units
Oven-crisped corn tortillas with creamy chickpea purée, avocado and jalapeño
Tostadas are all about contrast: a corn tortilla baked in the oven until it shatters when you bite into it, topped with a creamy, cumin-scented chickpea purée and a pile of fresh toppings. This version keeps everything vegan, and in 25 minutes you've got a plate on the table that's best eaten with your hands.
Ingredients
- 6baked crisp in the oven; or use store-bought tostada shellsThin flatbreads made from nixtamalized corn dough, with a gently earthy corn flavour.Substitute: Homemade ones from masa harina are just as good, whereas ordinary cornmeal or polenta won't bind into a dough. Wheat tortillas work for filling but taste blander, are softer and don't crisp the same way when fried.Read more
- 1 tspolive oilheaped, to thinly coat both sides; or cooking spray
- saltfine, to taste
- 14⅛ ozchickpeas1 can, drained and rinsed, for the topping purée (optional)
- 2avocadoblended into the purée or diced as topping (optional)
- 2 clovesgarlicpeeled, for the purée (optional)
- 1onionsmall, chopped (optional)
- ½ tspcuminground, for the purée (optional)
- black pepperfreshly ground, to taste (optional)
- 1fresh and chopped, or pickled (optional)Medium-sized green chilli from Mexico, thick-fleshed and juicy, with a fresh, moderate heat.Substitute: Other fresh green chillies of medium heat work well, such as serrano, which is somewhat hotter, or sturdy green chillies from an Asian grocer used more sparingly. Mild Turkish long green peppers give a similar freshness but little heat.Read more
- 1 bunchchopped, for garnish (optional)The fresh leaves of the coriander plant, with a bright, citrusy and slightly peppery taste.Substitute: There is no true substitute. Flat-leaf parsley, perhaps with a little lime zest, adds colour and green freshness but not cilantro's distinctive citrusy note.Read more
- crumbled on top; omit for vegan version (optional)Young, unripened Mexican cow's-milk cheese – white, moist, crumbly, mild and lightly salty.Substitute: Mild feta, soaked in cold water for an hour to draw out salt, comes closest in texture and in how it behaves when heated, though it stays somewhat saltier and sharper. A mix of feta and well-drained ricotta is milder and fresher but softer and less crumbly. Ricotta salata or crumbly paneer also work, although paneer is firmer and barely salty.Read more
- 2for a spicy, warm chickpea purée (optional)Smoked, dried jalapeños packed in a dark, sweet-sour sauce of tomato, vinegar and spices, smoky and properly hot.Substitute: Dried chipotles, soaked and blended with a little tomato paste and a splash of vinegar, come closest; at a pinch, smoked paprika and a little cayenne with tomato paste give smoke and heat, but not the fleshy texture or the sweet-sour depth of the sauce.Read more
- 3 tbsplimefor the purée and pico de gallo (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 390 °F and lightly grease your baking sheets with a little olive oil or cooking spray.
- Brush the corn tortillas very thinly with olive oil on both sides, lay them side by side on the baking sheets and sprinkle them with a little salt.
- Bake the tortillas for 4–5 minutes, flip them and bake for another 4–5 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Thicker tortillas need an extra 1–2 minutes per side.
- For the topping, put the drained and rinsed chickpeas into a blender with the garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and a splash of liquid, and blend until smooth. If you like, blend in some of the avocado and a little lime juice at the same time.
- Taste the purée and season with salt, pepper and lime juice until it's just how you like it.
- Chop the onion, jalapeño and cilantro, and dice the remaining avocado.
- Spread the crisp tostadas generously with the chickpea purée and top with avocado, onion, jalapeño and cilantro. If you're not cooking vegan, crumble some queso fresco or cotija over the top.
- Serve the tostadas right away, while they still have their crunch.
Tips and variations
Short on time? Store-bought tostada shells only need 2–3 minutes in the oven to warm through. For a fresher take, blend a cold avocado-chickpea hummus with lime juice, cilantro and olive oil, and serve it with a cucumber pico de gallo made from cucumber, tomato, onion and jalapeño. Prefer it warm and spicy? Sauté the onion and garlic, simmer the chickpeas briefly with chipotles in adobo and a little broth, then blend. If you're not keeping it vegan, refried beans, grated cheese, chicken tinga, carnitas or ground meat all work as toppings too. My serving tip: set the purée and toppings out in little bowls and let everyone build their own, so every tostada stays crisp right up to the first bite.
Allergens
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Milk (including lactose)
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
