A simple tostada de frijol, bean tostada, can be so satisfying. I often share that growing up, there were many meals that were simple like this. Beans and eggs were the main ingredients for many meals in our house and I still crave those simple and soul satisfying dishes to this day. You can’t have a tostada without all those fresh garnishes on top. It makes the meal complete!
I love carne asada and carnitas, but I also love all of the delicious meatless options when it comes to Mexican dishes!
The possibilities are endless when it comes to preparing meatless dishes that satisfy. Heck, a simple bowl of fresh made frijoles de la olla with some queso panela, cilantro, onion, serrano pepper and a toasted bolillo roll is tasty, filling and so easy. Have you ever tried scrambled eggs with diced onions and minced serrano peppers with refried beans mixed in? Oh my goodness! On a warm flour tortilla with a little spicy salsa it’s the bomb! Some of my other favorite food ingredients I enjoy for meatless meals are nopalitos(cacti), calabacitas(squash), champiñones(mushrooms), papas, (potatoes), queso panela(mexican farmers cheese), huevos (eggs), corn tortillas and probably so many others that I am missing.
Tostada night can be just as delicious as taco night!
Recently on social media, I saw a trend where they were calling tostadas open face or flat tacos, lol! Technically, they are I guess. But whatever the trend it, the fact remains for me that the simple Mexican dishes are the most delicious!
So Many Tortillas, So Little Time!
You never know how lucky you are until you live in an area where there is hardly any Mexican food ingredients available! Growing up in Los Angeles, then in Houston, Mexican food ingredients were abundant and on every corner. When I got married and moved far away to small town east coast, there was nothing. Practically nothing that I had grown up with as Mexican food. Mom would literally send me care packages of tortillas, fresh chile serrano and spices. I have been back in California for a few years now, and there are many Mexican markets nearby. So many brands of tortillas, salsas, spices, produce, Mexican style cuts of meat and more! Lucky for me, no matter where I live, ingredients are readily available online these days.
Meatless Meals Are Not Just For Lent.
I honestly never thought about meatless meals growing up, except when it was during lent. Mom would prepare typical dishes with nopales, beans, eggs, Mexican queso panela and dried shrimp. The dried shrimp and fish recipes were only prepared during those days, but the others were staple meals. The meals were economical and good when feeding a large family. In fact, when I think back on those meals, they are my most favoriye one, like these tostadas de frijol, bean tostadas!
Work With What You Have!
I can only imagine mom as a young wife with four little girls adapting to life in the United States. It was probably culture shock on many levels. The routine and familiarity of her surroundings, where she shopped for food ingredients all changed. This is where one has to adapt, especially when you are basically cooking everyday to feed your young family. Whatever she prepared, I know she did it with lots of love and her dishes were always delicious! Money was tight and one just had to make it work with what was available. That is how I grew up and that is also how I learned to cook. Below, I had a pile of pepper jack cheese slices that had to be used up. They worked out perfectly for these bean tostadas!
For A While There, I Was Freezing Everything!
In the early years of being a newlywed, I cooked as if I was feeding a family of ten! Lol! Lots of leftovers. Actually, too many leftovers and no one to share the food with, except my husband who was not familiar with traditional Mexican food. Unfortunately, we were not blessed with children, so as the years went by, I became very good at freezing leftovers. I wanted to freeze everything! This eventually became a problem and I had no more room. Then I would forget to label things and I didn’t know what I was looking at, lol! Learned my lesson and I prepare smaller portions these days. My point of this, beans freeze well whether they are whole or mashed. Salsa can be frozen, but I find that it becomes watery and I would have to cook it to thicken it back up. needless to say, I rarely freeze leftovers these days.
Simple Meals Don’t Have To Be Boring!
I have always said that my favorite part of many Mexican dishes is all the fresh garnishes! Mexican food is so colorful, with different flavors and textures. Simply on these tostadas, there is the fried corn tortilla, melted pepper jack cheese, refried pinto beans, salty cotija cheese, crispy lettuce, two different kinds of salsa, sharp onions, sweet and tangy tomato and a side of homemade escabeche (pickled jalapeños)! Tasty!
On This Day, I Was Actually Preparing Tostadas For The Guys Remodeling My Kitchen!
It was during lent and these tostadas de frijol, bean tostadas were the perfect meatless meal to feed a crowd. Ok, so it wasn’t a crowd, but two hungry men, lol! Plus the corn tortillas I used were small taqueria style. It just looks like a lot with all the garnish.
Salsa Cremosa, Creamy Salsa!
What makes it creamy? There’s no cream in it, but there is some oil to cook the ingredients. The oil added gives the salsa a creamy look when blended. if I had added more oil, it would look even more creamy! Those creamy taqueria style salsas that you see in red(or bright orange) and green in squeeze bottles are more than likely prepared this way.
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Once You Learn To Prepare Homemade Escabeche, It’s Hard To Go Back!
Once you have learned and tried the flavors of homemade pickled jalapeños with onions and carrots, you will be hooked! I was anyway! I have been using the same formula for many years now and I really enjoy it! The best is that you can get creative and slice, dice or leave them whole. Use a combination of peppers or add in some cauliflower!
Tostadas de Frijol-Bean Tostadas
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps pork lard or your favorite oil
- 1/4 section of a small white onion
- 1 serrano pepper, stem removed
- 3 c pinto or black beans
- 1/2 c bean broth or chicken broth
- 1 c vegetable oil
- 12 3 inch corn tortillas
- 12 slices pepper jack cheese
- 2 1/2 c Lettuce, shredded
- 1 c Roma tomato, diced
- 1/2 c Onion, diced
- 1 1/2 c Cotija cheese, grated
Chipotle Crema
- 1 c Mexican crema
- 1 large chipotle in adobo, minced
- Salt, to taste
Salsa Cremosa Verde
- 2 tsps avocado oil
- small section white onion
- 3 chile de arbol
- 3 large tomatillos
- 3 serrano peppers, stems removed
- 3 cloves of garlic
- small handful cilantro
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
Chipotle Crema
- Combine all of the ingredients in a serving bowl until well combined. Taste for salt. You could mix in a tsp of fresh lime juice for a tangier version.
Salsa Cremosa Verde
- In a saute pan, drizzle in the oil at medium heat. Add the chile de arbol and onion. Stir as needed for the next 2 minutes. Remove from pan. Add the tomatillos and serrano peppers. Sauté, stirring and flipping as needed for 6-8 minutes.
- Transfer tomatillos, serranos and onion to the blender jar. Pour in 1/2 c water and season with salt, to taste. Blend on high until smooth. Remove stems from chile de arbol and transfer to the blender jar along with cilantro. Pulse to blend 5-6 times. taste for salt. Pour into serving dish.
Tostadas
- First thing, lay out all of the corn tortillas in a single layer to dry out while you prepare all of your garnishes and salsas. Drying them out will help them fry faster and absorb less oil.
- While the tortillas are drying out, preheat the pork lard at medium heat in a skillet. To the skillet add the section of onion and whole serrano pepper. Fry them in the lard until the onion starts to caramelize and the serrano begins to blister. This will add flavor the the lard before you add the beans. When ready, add the beans and remove the onion and serrano. When beans begin to simmer, mash them to the consistency that you like. Taste for salt and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a separate skillet, preheat the oil at medium heat to fry the corn tortillas. When ready fry three tortillas at once until golden and crispy, turning as needed. Drain onto paper towels.
- Lay out the tostadas onto a large baking sheet in a single layer. Top each one with a slice of cheese. Spoon on some mashed beans. Place in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese has melted. When ready, remove from the oven. Serve right away and top with all the delicious garnishes!
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Wow, thank you for such great information.
The other day I froze Mexican rice, well that’s what we call it… and when I unfroze it about four weeks later it tasted horrible. Any tips on freezing rice?
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To be honest, I cannot remember the last time I stored leftover rice in the freezer. How much rice are you preparing. I typically only prepare 1 c of dried rice and we eat it for 8 days or so. I have purchased a vacuum sealer for my food a while back. It works well, but I have never tried it with rice. I know the rice can tend to dry out. Reheating it after being frozen I used to drizzle in some broth, cover with plastic wrap and microwave it to trap all the steam inside. But nothing beats fresh!