Colm O'Gorman: My crispy chicken tostadas pair well with this salsa roja

These tostadas are a heavenly combination of textures and flavours. Serve with your choice of sides. We had them with some refried beans and corn ribs which were perfect.

This recipe is the result of a last-minute dinner idea I had one Sunday night a few weeks ago. 

I had made my Huevos Rancheros for this column the day before, and I had some of my delicious salsa roja left over in the fridge, and some tortillas in my bread bin.

I always have chicken mini fillets in the fridge as they are just so quick and convenient for midweek dinners, so I decided to coat those in breadcrumbs and cook them in my air fryer. 

I also made a simple fresh salsa and toasted the tortillas until they were crisp and served up these delicious tostadas. They were fabulous!

Crisp, golden, tender chicken served on a bed of fresh slaw, over crispy tortillas, topped with spicy salsa roja and a beautifully fresh zesty salsa. 

These tostadas are a heavenly combination of textures and flavours. Serve with your choice of sides. We had them with some refried beans and corn ribs which were perfect.

Crispy Chicken Tostada with Salsa Roja

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Crisp, golden, tender chicken served on a bed of fresh slaw, over crispy tortillas, topped with spicy salsa roja and a beautifully fresh zesty salsa.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Salsa Roja:

• 450g plum tomatoes

• 3 green chillies

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 tsp olive oil

• ¼ onion finely chopped

• ½ a vegetable stock pot

• Pinch flaky sea salt

• Crispy Chicken:

• 400g chicken breast mini fillets

• 1 large egg

• 75g plain flour

• 100g panko dried breadcrumbs

• ½ tsp onion powder

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• A few sprays olive oil

• Fresh Salsa:

• 100g cherry tomatoes

• ¼ onion, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp chopped coriander

• Juice of half a lime

• Flaky sea salt and ground black pepper

• Slaw:

• ½ head white cabbage

• Juice of a lime

• A splash of extra virgin olive oil

• A little chopped coriander

• Pinch of sea salt

• Tostadas and to serve:

• 8 small corn tortillas

• A little fresh coriander

• Some thinly sliced red chilli

•  

Method

1. Make the Salsa Roja. Heat a heavy based nonstick pan over high heat. Add a teaspoon of olive, just enough to cover the base of the pan. Pop the plum tomatoes, green chillies and the peeled whole cloves of garlic into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and place a lid on the pan.

2. Pan roast the vegetables for 15 minutes, occasionally tossing the pan gently while keeping the lid on to ensure they cook evenly. After 15 minutes, they should be soft, a little charred and very fragrant.

3. Heat two teaspoons of olive oil in a small saucepan and cook the finely chopped onion until it is soft and translucent — about five minutes will do it.

4. While the onion is sautéing, put the roasted vegetables and any cooking juices from the pan into a food processor along with half a vegetable stock pot and blitz until smooth. Add the blitzed vegetables to the pan with the onions. Stir, and allow the salsa to cook for five minutes over medium/low heat.

5. Taste and season with some salt if required. Set aside.

6. Next, prepare the chicken. Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk it lightly. Put the flour in a second bowl, and combine the panko breadcrumbs, onion and garlic powder, cumin, and the cayenne pepper in a third. Line the three bowls up on your countertop, with a plate at the end.

7. Working one piece of chicken at a time, toss the fillets first in the flour, coating well and shaking off any excess.

8. Next, dip the chicken in the egg, again coating it thoroughly.

9. Finally toss it in the breadcrumbs, gently pressing in the breadcrumbs to ensure the fillet is evenly coated. Place the breaded chicken on the plate as you go.

10. When all the chicken has been coated in panko breadcrumbs, spray on both sides with just a little olive oil.

11. Pop the chicken into the basket of your air fryer, arranging the pieces in a single layer, taking care not to crowd the basket. Air fry at 190° Celsius for six minutes, then turn them over and give them a light spray with more oil. Cook for another six minutes until the chicken is crisp and golden.

12. You can also cook the chicken in an oven if you do not have an air fryer. Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius and place the chicken on a nonstick oven tray. Cook for 12-15 minutes, turning once halfway through.

13. While the chicken is cooking, make the fresh salsa and the slaw.

14. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters and pop them into a bowl along with the chopped onions, coriander, a little ground black pepper, a pinch of sea salt and the fresh lime juice. Stir and taste to check the seasoning, adding just a little more salt or lime juice if required.

15. To make the slaw, very finely shred the white cabbage and chop the coriander. Combine both in a bowl along with the lime juice and olive oil and season to taste.

16. Now toast the tortillas. Heat a nonstick frying pan over high heat. Pop on a tortilla and cook toast it both sides until a little crisp, about two minutes each side will do it. Repeat until you have toasted all the tortillas.

17. Finally, assemble the tostadas. Place two toasted tortillas on each of four warm plates. Divide the slaw across the tortillas and add a few pieces of chicken to each. Spoon some of the salsa roja over them. Scatter the fresh salsa over next and finish each tostada with some chopped fresh coriander and a little thinly-sliced red chilli. Serve immediately with more salsa roja on the side.