Tostadas With Smashed Black Beans Or Vaqueros Food

TOSTADAS WITH SMASHED BLACK BEANS OR VAQUEROS

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pan (I use a heavy nonstick pan for this) and add cumin. When it is sizzling, add beans with their liquid and turn up heat to medium-high. Cook beans, mashing with the back of your spoon and stirring often, until they are thick but still fairly moist, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Every so often a layer of thick broth should begin to stick to the pan. Stir that into the beans - it has a lot of flavor. The smashed beans will continue to dry even after you remove from the heat.
• Toast the tortillas. For really crisp tortillas, heat one at a time (2 if you have a large enough microwave to fit 2 without the tortillas overlapping) in a microwave for 1 minute on full power. Flip tortilla over and microwave for 30 seconds to a minute more on full power, until crisp. You can also toast them in a dry pan or directly over the flame, but this will not crisp the tortillas, it will just char them.
• In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, chiles, onion, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt. Stir in lime juice and the avocado. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes for the best flavor.
• Spread about 1/2 cup of the refried beans over each tortilla. Top with a generous spoonful of salsa. Place a handful of shredded lettuce or cabbage on top and if desired a little more salsa on the lettuce. Sprinkle on some white cheese, and serve.

BLACK BEAN TOSTADAS

Steps:

• Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Combine refried black beans, black beans, green chiles, garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until warm and combined, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Place tostada shells on an ungreased baking sheet and evenly distribute bean mixture between them. Top with Monterey Jack cheese.
• Broil in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, watching carefully to avoid burning tostadas, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Serve immediately and garnish with salsa, lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole.

BLACK BEAN AND QUINOA TOSTADAS

Steps:

• Rinse the beans and cover with water in a pot, soak overnight.
• 3-4 hours before dinner, rinse the beans, and add the remaining bean ingredients. You can dice the onion as fine as you like, I usually cut the ends off one onion, cut it in half across its axis, peel off the outer layer, and throw one half in the pot.
• Simmer the beans for 2-3 hours, until the beans are tender. Turn off the heat, cover, and set them aside if they're done before everything else.
• About 1 hour before dinner, soak the tomatoes in hot (boiled, not boiling) water for a few minutes, then rinse them in cold water, and peel the skins off. Remove their seeds and cores, and dice the tomatoes fine.
• Dice the onions, crush the garlic, add to the tomatoes.
• Remove the seeds and membranes from the serranos, and dice them as fine as you can. Add them to the tomatoes, onions, and garlic.
• Heat up a frying pan to medium high, pour in the corn oil. When the oil is nice and hot, add the vegetables (and fruit, if you insist on being pedantic about it :p ), and fry until the onion is clear.
• Transfer the vegetables from your frying pan to your rice cooker, and add the remaining ingredients for the quinoa. Give it a good stir, and turn it on.
• When your rice cooker is finished cooking the quinoa, strain and rinse the beans, and stir them into the quinoa.
• Serve on tostadas with sour cream, crumbled goat cheese, and guacamole. You could use queso fresco instead of the goat cheese, but that little bit of pungence goes nicely with the quinoa. For the quacamole, I mash two avocados, and add crushed cumin seeds, one clove crushed garlic, kosher salt, lime juice, Buffalo chipotle sauce, and fresh cilantro, all to taste.

TOSTADAS WITH EGGS, BLACK BEANS, AND CHORIZO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F. Fry chorizo in medium skillet over medium-high heat until meat is cooked through and fat is rendered, about 10 minutes. Drain off all fat from skillet. Add beans to chorizo and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Arrange tostadas on baking sheet. Spread 1/3 cup bean-chorizo mixture on each tostada. Top with onion. Place in oven to keep warm.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same skillet over high heat. Drop in eggs 1 at a time. Fry over medium-high heat until whites are firm but yolks are still tender, about 1 minute per side. Using metal spatula, place 1 egg on each tostada; top with salsa, avocado, and cheese.