Jalisco-style Tostadas (or Sopes)

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 1/3 lb raw mexican chorizo sausage, casings removed and crumbled (we used two chorizo links)
• 1 lb free range ground beef (ground chicken, buffalo or turkey can be substituted if you prefer)
• 2 cups refried beans (i made homemade lightly seasoned black beans in the crock pot)
• 2 cups masa harina
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• water, for mixing
• oil (for frying)
• 1 cup cotija cheese (lucky we are to have a locally made cotija!) or 1 cup queso fresco, crumbled (lucky we are to have a locally made cotija!)
• 2 cups green cabbage (we used a combination of green cabbage and butter lettuce) or 2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded (we used a combination of green cabbage and butter lettuce)
• 1/2 cup mexican crema (we tried the latter! good!) or 1/2 cup sour cream mixed with 2 t heavy cream (we tried the latter! good!)
• fresh cilantro, chopped (fresh!)
• 2 -3 radishes, minced
• 1 lime, cut into small wedges
• 6 roma tomatoes, diced small (or other favorite tomatoes of your choice)
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, diced small
• 1 -2 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced (i only used equivalent of 1 tablespoon of jalapeno)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

Recipe

• 1 pico de gallo: in a bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, cilantro and lime juice. season with salt and pepper and set aside. the salsa is best prepared for optimum flavor 1 hour in advance.
• 2 meat: cook *beef and chorizo in a heated skillet, breaking chorizo meat into small pieces, until browned and cooked through. set aside. *although the chorizo is wonderfully seasoned, my husband added a little more spices and such to the meat mixture: chipotle powder, cumin, part of a small cinnamon stick or small pinch of ground cinnamon, mexican oregano, very small amount of salt-free garlic powder and black pepper -- that i can remember.
• 3 heat up the refried beans and simmer on low until ready to serve. add more cooking liquid if the beans start to dry out.
• 4 for the thick tortillas, mix masa and salt in a bowl. add 1 1/4 to 11/2 c of water and knead for 1-2 min until dough comes together and is pliable. (a food processor works well for this step.) if the dough seems too dry, add more water, a tablespoon or so at a time.
• 5 divide dough into 8 equal portions and form into balls.
• 6 to make sopes: press the dough with your fingers from the center outwards to create a shallow, flat bowl approximately 5" in diameter. heat 1" of vegetable oil in a skillet to 350° and fry tortillas approximately 2 min each side, until golden brown. remove from oil and place onto paper towels.
• 7 to make tostadas: take each portion/ball of dough and flatten either with a tortilla press or with a rolling pin to about shy 1/2" thickness. fry the same way as indicated in step above.
• 8 to assemble, place a tortilla onto a plate, top with refried beans, ground beef and chorizo mix, pico de gallo, cheese and shredded cabbage/lettuce and radishes. add a dollop of crema and garnish with cilantro and lime.
• 9 serving suggestions: i placed the garnishes on a large platter for a "build-your-own" tostada bar. best part of this recipe? leftovers! our sides: mexican rice and mexican style fruit salad (subbing strawberries, texas red star grapefruit and valencia oranges for the melons.).