Looks are definitely deceiving in this photo. That red stuff is actually the tomatillo salsa; it's red because the grocery store only had a paltry three small tomatillos left for me to purchase, so I used a few canned whole red tomatoes I had leftover from a dish last week to fill it out. But trust me, that salsa wasn't missing one bit of the tangy pop you'd expect from a tomatillo salsa, it was tart and fabulous.
And that chicken (or I should say chicken and turkey; it was one chicken thigh leftover from the panini the other night and a third of a lb. of ground turkey) is so dark and earthy-looking from the adobo that it almost looks like beef.
Look at me, improvising. Adapt and overcome, Semper Fi, OORAH!
Ahem. Let's take a look at the some of the nutritional pros of this meal before we delve into the recipe:
Avocado is a nutritional powerhouse, packed with B6, Folate (B9) and Vitamin K and a literal slew of other nutrients. They're also rich in unsaturated fat and fiber.
Tomatillos are a good source of Vitamin C, Niacin (B3), Potassium and Manganese as well as fiber, like most fruits and veggies.
Turkey is a nice, lean protein rich in Selenium and every variety of Vitamin B.
Even that cilantro is a good idea with its rainbow of nutrients, like most fresh herbs.
And have you heard that the capsaicin in spicy peppers can kill cancer cells by attacking their mitochondria? Hit 'um where it hurts!
Who says Mexican food can't be healthy? Anywho, here's how this shaped up, this is the recipe for four heaping tostadas:
4 tostada shells
1 medium Hass avocado
1 chicken thigh (mine was cooked)
3 tomatillos
3 canned peeled tomatoes
1/3 lb. of ground turkey
1 chipotle pepper in adobo (you may want to use a half of one if you're weak in the knees to spicy things, these bad boys are HOT)
2 Tbsp. of adobo (this can be bought seperately [it's great to have around] or you can use the chipotle's marinade)
1 tsp. of ground coriander
1 clove of garlic
1/8 of a red onion
The juice of 1/4 of a lime
1/4 cup of extra sharp cheddar (this is definitely a non-authentic faux pas on my part, but I like the flavor and it's what I had in the fridge)
About a palmful of fresh cilantro
A little olive oil
To taste salt, pepper, red pepper, onion and garlic powder, whatever else you would like.
First and foremost, peel the paper off of those tomatillos, rinse and dry them, and cut them into quarters. Oil them up a little, salt and pepper, and put them in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
While they're in there, heat up a heavy skillet, medium heat, little oil in the bottom. When it's hot, add the turkey and leave it alone to brown a little, break it up with your spatula as it cooks. Add the chipotle (finely diced), adobo, coriander, salt and pepper. If the mixture gets dry, add water as needed to keep it loose, you know how turkey can be. If you have some leftover chicken like I did, chop it finely and add it now.
As that's browning, you can make your guacamole and start the salsa. Mash your ripe avocado into a bowl, get some lime juice on it right away, add salt, fresh ground black pepper, a wee bit of extra virgin olive oil and some onion and garlic powder. You can add other stuff if you like, I'm kind of a purist when it comes to guac.
Get out your hand blender or food processor and get to work on your tomatoes, garlic clove and red onion, season it appropriately. Add the tomatillos after they're done and cooled a bit. Add cilantro at the very end; I like to chop it by hand so it doesn't get pulverized.
Lastly, get those tostada shells in the oven for about 5 minutes on 350 to crisp them up.
Oh, and grate the cheese. Duh.
Assembly is entirely up to you, garnish with some cilantro.
Enjoy! Tomorrow we're going a little Middle Eastern, do come back.
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