Sweet Potato Tostadas With Avocado
Roasted sweet potato cubes and smashed avocado piled on flat, oven-crisped corn tortillas over a layer of quick refried black beans. Built in the order that keeps a flat shell from falling apart.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
For the Crisp Tortilla Bases
- 8 corn tortillas 100% corn
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for brushing
- salt to taste
For the Roasted Sweet Potato
- 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes about 2 medium, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Quick Refried Black Beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 15 ounces canned black beans rinsed and drained
- ⅓ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Smashed Avocado and Finishing
- 2 ripe avocados
- 2 tablespoons lime juice fresh
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup red onion finely chopped
- ⅓ cup queso fresco crumbled
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 lime cut into wedges, to serve
Instructions
Crisp the Shells
- Heat the oven to 400F. Brush both sides of each corn tortilla lightly with olive oil and arrange them in a single layer on two sheet pans, with no overlapping and nothing stacked on top.
- Bake 5 minutes, flip each tortilla, and bake another 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and a shell clicks hard against the pan.
- Move the shells to a wire rack and salt them right away. Let them cool at least 5 minutes so they firm up before topping.
Roast the Sweet Potato
- Raise the oven to 425F. Toss the sweet potato cubes with the olive oil, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt.
- Spread the cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan with space between them. Do not crowd the pan or they will steam instead of browning.
- Roast 25 to 30 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the cut faces are browned and the corners are slightly dark.
Beans, Avocado and Assembly
- Warm the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic and cumin for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the black beans, water and salt. Mash in the pan with a fork, leaving some texture, and cook 3 to 4 minutes until thick and spreadable, not pourable.
- Mash the avocados with the lime juice and salt, keeping the texture chunky rather than smooth.
- Spread the beans over each shell all the way to the edge. Spoon on the roasted sweet potato cubes and press them lightly into the beans.
- Top with dollops of smashed avocado, then red onion, cilantro and crumbled queso fresco. Serve immediately with lime wedges.
Notes
- 100% corn tortillas only: flour tortillas go leathery in the oven instead of snapping.
- Cube size: ½ inch cubes sit still on a flat shell, 1 inch cubes roll off.
- Beans are the glue: spread them edge to edge and keep them thick, not soupy.
- Build to order: an assembled tostada goes soft within minutes, so set out components and let people build their own.
- Shell storage: airtight at room temperature for 3 days, never in the fridge.
- Shortcut: packaged tostada shells work, warmed for 3 minutes at 350F first.