Totopos Tostados Recipes

HOMEMADE TOTOPOS (CRUNCHY CORN TORTILLA CHIPS)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat oil over medium-high heat for about a minute. Drop a crumb of tortilla into the oil; if it sinks, it's not hot enough. If it bubbles and comes to the top, it's perfect.
• Slide pieces of tortilla into oil using a slotted spoon or spatula, frying just a few at a time.
• Let pieces fry until golden brown and crispy, which will take less than one minute. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
• Gather the ingredients along with paste food coloring.
• Mix about 1/4 teaspoon of paste (not liquid) food coloring with about 2 tablespoons of water.
• Use a brush to "paint" the whole tortillas with this mixture, using one color or several, as you wish, and painting on just one side or on both.
• Let tortillas dry for at least an hour, then cut and fry. (This works best on tortillas made with white-rather than yellow-corn.)
• Gather the ingredients.
• Before cutting tortillas into wedges, lightly oil each side of each tortilla, either with cooking spray or with a brush dipped in vegetable oil.
• Cut tortillas into wedges; place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. (Tortilla wedges should not be touching.)
• Bake in a 425 F oven until somewhat browned, 7-9 minutes. For seasoned totopos , sprinkle desired herbs/spices over oiled chips before baking. Try powdered chile (piquín or chipotle, for example) chili powder (the kind used for making soup), dried epazote, or a mix such as Cajun spices, 4-pepper mix, or your favorite blend. Edited by Robin Grose

TOTOPOS TOSTADOS

Steps:

• Stack 4 of the tortillas and cut them into 4 pieshaped wedges. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Spread the tortilla pieces on a rack and dry them in the sun, if possible. If there is no sun or you are in a hurry, dry them in a 325 degree oven for about 40 minutes. In a shallow bowl, stir together the salt and water until the water has dissolved. Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a small skillet. Submerge a good handful of the tortilla pieces in the salt mixture for a moment, then drain and shake them off. Immediately throw them into the hot oil and stand back the oil will splatter. Turn them over from time to time and cook for about 4 minutes total, depending on the thickness of the tortillas. Transfer with a slotted spoon (draining the excess oil back into the pan for a moment) to a double thickness of paper towels. Continue dipping and frying the remaining tortilla pieces.
• Serve the totopos on a large round platter with a bowl of Tomatillo Guacamole, lemon wedges, and sprigs of cilantro.
• In a large bowl, combine the onion, chiles, cilantro, and salt. Add the roasted tomatillos a few at a time, mashing and grinding the skin as finely as possible with a fork or a pestle. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits (reserve 3 of the pits). Scoop out the flesh and mash it roughly into the mixture, turning it over from the bottom so that the seasonings are well distributed. The guacamole should not be smooth, it should have some texture. Nestle the reserved pits back into the mixture and scatter the shallots and cilantro leaves over the top. Serve immediately.

ESQUITES CON SALSA DE TOTOPOS

Steps:

• Esquites
• Bring a large stockpot of generously salted water to a boil. Place corn in pot, cover with a heavy plate to keep corn submerged, and remove pot from heat. Let corn sit until kernels are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and transfer corn to a large bowl; let cool.
• Stir crema, mayonnaise, and 2 Tbsp. water in a medium bowl to combine, then mix in Cotija; season with salt. Cover and chill crema mixture until ready to serve.
• Salsa and assembly
• Crush tortilla chips very coarsely in a large resealable plastic bag. Set aside.
• Remove stems from guajillo and árbol chiles. Cut open with kitchen shears and scrape out most of the seeds and strings with your hands (wear disposable food-grade gloves if you have them). Break chiles into about ¼" pieces.
• Heat oil over low in a medium saucepan. Drop in a peanut and when oil starts bubbling gently around it, carefully add remaining peanuts. Cook, stirring often, until golden and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add chiles and cook, stirring, until chiles starting to darken and puff, about 1 minute. Let cool 10 minutes.
• Transfer mixture to a food processor and process until peanuts and chiles are finely ground, about 2 minutes. Add sesame seeds, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton salt, and reserved tortilla chips. Pulse 3 times, just to combine (you want to preserve texture of sesame seeds and chips). Transfer salsa to a medium bowl and let cool. (The chile-peanut mixture will sink to the bottom while the chips stay afloat.)
• Cut corn in half crosswise and stand upright. Slice away kernels in wide sheets with a sharp knife, using a gentle sawing motion. Transfer corn to a large platter. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. lime juice over and sprinkle with salt. Spoon reserved crema mixture on top, then spoon ½ cup salsa over, making sure to dig out some chile-peanut mixture along with some chips; reserve remaining salsa for another use. Drizzle remaining lime juice over. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Do ahead: Salsa (without chips) can be made 1 month ahead. Cover and chill. Add chips up to 1 day ahead.

SPICY BEAN & AVOCADO TOSTADOS

Steps:

• Heat grill to medium-high. Put 2 tortillas onto a large baking sheet, then grill for 2 mins. In a bowl, mix the refried beans, cayenne pepper, kidney beans and cherry tomatoes, then divide half the mix between the tortillas. Scatter with half of the cheese and half of the sliced chilli, then grill again until the cheese melts. Lift onto plates and top with half of the avocado and coriander to serve. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.