Tostadas de Tinga

Every once in awhile, I get a recipe directly from Disney that I get really pumped to try.  Even though I've been sitting on this recipe for a year, this was one of those recipes I wanted to try so badly.  Not exactly sure why I waited so long...  But whatever.  Later is better then never, right?

Of course, at every available turn, I did my best to try to mess this recipe up as thoroughly as possible.

A little about this recipe...  It comes from San Angel Inn, one of my favorite (if not very favorite) restaurants.  Being a fan of almost nothing in this dish (my hatred of refried beans is well documented and I regularly go through "I hate chicken" phases), I tried it under duress, expecting to want to spit it into my napkin.  I was very happy to discovered that I love, love, loved it and regretted that there were only 3 on the dish, and that I had to share.  When I got home from Disney, I searched online and found nothing by way of a recipe, nor was it in any of my books.  So I reached out to my Disney source and, 3 months later, I had the recipe, directly from the chef himself.

 For reasons I can't quite explain, I've been obsessed with making this recipe recently, and I finally gave it a whirl.  And then I managed to make a ton of stupid little mistakes.  First I bought black beans instead of refried black beans...  They were next to each other on the shelf, I grabbed the wrong one.  Sigh.  Then I had a tough time with the chicken...  I didn't let it cook long enough, so instead of fork-tender, it was kind of rubbery.  Double sigh.  I accidentally added too much water to the sauce and had a bear of a time seasoning the chicken because I didn't let it cook in the marinade long enough.  Then, the biggest error, I bought verde sauce, which was mind-blowingly spicy, instead of using guacamole.  Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking there. 

In the end, despite my numerous mistakes, it actually came out really well and tasted almost the same as what they serve at San Angel.  Even the chicken was good after I let it cook for longer.  Probably won't make the verde sauce mistake again, though.  Yikes.

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Tostadas de Tinga

As is served at San Angel Inn, Mexico Pavilion, EPCOT

 

Marinated Chicken
°o°  8 oz chicken breast 
°o°  1/2 oz diced onions
°o°  4 garlic cloves, chopped
°o°  16 oz water

°o°  3 oz chipotle paste

°o°  3 oz tomato puree 

°o°  salt and pepper to taste

Tostadas 

°o°  8 oz cooked chicken (see above)

°o°  4 small corn tostadas (or corn tortillas, cut with a round cutter to slightly larger then chip size)
°o°  4 oz refried black beans, warmed

°o°  2 oz queso fresco or shredded Monterey Jack cheese

°o°  1 oz guacamole

°o°  2 oz sour cream

In a large pot with water, boil chicken.  Once cooked, cool down the chicken and shred.  Set aside.

Saute onions in a saucepan until they are caramelized.  Add garlic.  Add water, chipotle paste, tomato puree, and chicken.  Cook over medium for 30-40 minutes and salt to taste.

In a sautee pan with a thin layer or oil, fry corn tortillas until crunchy (step not needed if using small tostadas...  They should be crunchy already).  Allow to drain on paper towels.

To assemble, spread layer of warmed refried black beans on tostada.  Add shredded, cooked, marinated chicken.  Top with drizzle of guacamole, sour cream, and top with cheese.  Serve immediately. 

 

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