Trout tostadas
“Seafood tostadas have become a staple of Mexican food, and most Mexican restaurants in the world will have a tuna tostada on the menu. The crispy texture and alkaline flavour of the dried, baked or fried corn tortillas pairs brilliantly with the lean, clean flavour of a fatty fish like tuna or trout. All that’s needed is something to add spice and sourness to finish the dish. I have used poppadoms to make these tostadas, as they have just the right texture and delicate flavour, but you could also use pitta bread toasts, or corn tostadas, of course.”
These recipes are taken from Mexican Soul: A New Style of Cooking by Santiago Lastra (£30, Quadrille Publishing Ltd).
Santiago says: “Xnipec means ‘dog’s nose’ in Mayan, and this spicy sauce from the Yucatán region is named as such because it makes your nose run like a dog’s wet nose when you eat it. It adds texture, spice and acidity to any dish, but is normally used to finish fatty, rich and umami dishes like cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork) or turkey panuchos (refried tortillas stuffed with beans and topped with meat), or to brighten up seafood, such as in the traditional fish dish tikin xic. It’s usually made with sour orange; in the recipe below we use a mix of lime and orange, as in many regions outside Yucatán.”
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 8 poppadoms, uncooked, (or corn tostadas, pitta bread toasts or potato masa tostadas)
- 350g of trout fillet, skinless, thickly sliced
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- sea salt flakes
XNIPEC
- 200ml of lime juice, (from about 5 limes)
- 100ml of orange juice, (from about 1 orange)
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1/2 fresh habanero chilli, thinly sliced
- 2 pinches of dried oregano
- 1 pinch of sea salt flakes
PISTACHIO GUACAMOLE
- 60g of spring onions
- 3 garlic cloves
- 100g of gooseberries, or green tomatillos (you could use 50g cherry tomatoes, 50ml lime or lemon juice and water to adjust the consistency, as an alternative)
- 200g of shelled dark green pistachio nuts
- 150g of roasted and peeled cherry tomatoes, (roasted in a 220°C oven for 10 minutes, or until soft, golden and slightly charred)
- 10g of roasted green bird’s eye chillies, (roasted in a 220°C oven for 10-15 minutes, or until soft, golden and slightly charred), or to taste
- 50g of coriander, or chervil
- vegetable oil, for drizzling
Method
For the Xnipec, strain the lime and orange juices into a bowl. Add the onion and mix together, then leave to rest for 30 minutes. If you want to serve straight away, steep the onion in boiling water for 1 minute to tenderise, then drain and combine with the juices
- 200ml of lime juice, (from about 5 limes)
- 100ml of orange juice, (from about 1 orange)
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
Finish with the chilli, oregano and salt. Serve at room temperature. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days. This makes 200ml which is double what you need
- 1/2 fresh habanero chilli, thinly sliced
- 2 pinches of dried oregano
- 1 pinch of sea salt flakes
For the pistachio guacamole, preheat the oven to 210°C
Put the spring onions, garlic and gooseberries (or tomatillos) onto a baking sheet, drizzle with a little oil and roast in the oven for 10 minutes until slightly charred
- 60g of spring onions
- 3 garlic cloves
- 100g of gooseberries, or green tomatillos (you could use 50g cherry tomatoes, 50ml lime or lemon juice and water to adjust the consistency, as an alternative)
- vegetable oil, for drizzling
Remove from the oven and transfer to a blender. Add the citrus juice, if using, pistachios, tomatoes, chillies, coriander and the remaining oil, then blend until smooth, adding a little water if needed. If you want to control the spice level, add the chillies one by one and taste as you go. This will make double what you need
- 200g of shelled dark green pistachio nuts
- 150g of roasted and peeled cherry tomatoes, (roasted in a 220°C oven for 10 minutes, or until soft, golden and slightly charred)
- 10g of roasted green bird’s eye chillies, (roasted in a 220°C oven for 10-15 minutes, or until soft, golden and slightly charred), or to taste
- 50g of coriander, or chervil
Half-fill a saucepan with oil and heat to 200°C, then deep-fry the poppadoms for 15-30 seconds until crisp and puffed up (be careful not to burn them). Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 8 poppadoms, uncooked, (or corn tostadas, pitta bread toasts or potato masa tostadas)
To build the tostadas, spread some of the pistachio guacamole on the poppadoms as a base, then put an even layer of trout on top and finish with the Xnipec and a pinch of salt. Serve room temperature
- 350g of trout fillet, skinless, thickly sliced
- sea salt flakes
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