The Ultimate Tostada Stacker

All I was dreaming about last night was a nicely stacked tostada with beautiful layers of pulled pork, gauc with rice and beans….

…it was about time that I made it come true.

There’s a lot of layers, but the best part about this is that you don’t have to incorporate every part of the recipe and this is a fairly easy recipe since there are no fancy techniques. It’s just great layers of food combined into one. I loved making this with my husband – he made the guac and poblano spread while I made the Carnitas and tomato sauce combo. Then after the tower was built and we dug into it together!

Ingredients:

Shredded Carnitas with 

• 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
• 1 Poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces, drained)
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Shredded pork (Trader Joe’s traditional carnitas)
• 1 cup frozen yellow corn (Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn)

Guacamole

• 2 avocados, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1/4 tomato
• 1/2 jalapeno, leave in half the seeds (for some spice)
• 1 lime, juiced

Roasted Poblano Pepper Spread

• 2 Poblano peppers
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 3/4 cup 2% Greek Yogurt

Additional details

• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 can of Cuban style black beans
• White rice
• Fresh cilantro
• Tortillas

Directions:

Shredded Pork and Tomato Sauce

• Use large non-stick skillet and place on stove with medium-high heat.
• Add oil to the pan and mix in the onion, poblano pepper and garlic together. Cook for 6 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• While vegetables are cooking, prepare the traditional carnitas from Trader Joe’s. The easiest option is to microwave, but I prefer to place it on a roasting pan and heat up at 250F degrees for about 10-15 minutes (careful not to over cook). Once done, use fork to shred the meat.
• Add chili powder, salt, tomatoes and tomato sauce and stir until fully combined.
• Add carnitas and corn.
• Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Guacamole

• Combine in food processor garlic, red onion, tomato, jalapeno and lime juice and blend together until thick puree.
• Add avocados to the mixture and blend together until avocado is smooth texture.
• Scoop guacamole into bowl and place in refrigerator.

Roasted Poblano Pepper Spread

• Drizzle poblano peppers with avocado or grapeseed oil in a roasting pan.
• Roast at 400F degrees for 10-15 minutes (until exterior is charred).
• Allow the peppers to cool for 10 minutes.
• Then remove the exterior skin of the pepper.
• Slice the pepper in half and remove the seeds.
• Dice peppers and place in food processor.
• Add garlic, lemon and Greek yogurt to food processor.
• Blend until well incorporated and a smooth texture.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Place in refrigerator.

Crispy Tortillas

• Preheat oven to 400F and line baking tray with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl drizzle avocado or grapeseed oil.
• Coat the tortillas with the oil.
• Place on baking tray and try not to overlap them too much.
• Bake for 5 minutes on one side and use tongs to flip and bake for another 3-5 minutes on the other side (until golden brown).

Combining everything together:

• Cook the beans and once done, mix with white rice.
• On serving plate, place one crispy tortilla on the bottom.
• Take a spoon full of guac and layer on top.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves and red pepper.
• Stack on top another crispy tortilla.
• Place a layer of grated cheddar cheese and a layer of carnita mixture.
• Another crispy tortilla and then the poblano pepper spread and then the bean and rice mix on top. Garnish with cilantro.
• Continue to add more layers with the crispy tortilla and see how high you can build your tostado stacker!

How high can you stack your Tostada?