This flavorful dish is from Veracruz, a Spanish-founded city on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Being the signature dish of the region this meal takes tostadas to a whole new level of flavor and indulgence.
My mouth is watering just thinking about all the flavors and textures bursting out of this meal. You have savory and crunchy, acidic from the tomatoes, briny from the capers, some heat from the jalapenos, fresh from the fish and lettuce and smooth from the beans and avocado. YUM!
Variations of Tostadas
For this recipe I used cod but you could swap that out for halibut, tilapia, or even red snapper. You can use any fish you like but keep in mind some fish, like my personal favorite, sea bass will most likely fall apart. Which isn’t all bad but you won’t have those big bits of flaky fish.
Not a fan of seafood, swap the fish for chicken. The recipe below cooks the fish in the hot red sauce, but if you are using chicken you’ll need to first cook the chicken in the skillet, remove then shred. then pick up and follow directions at step one.
How Tostadas are made. Did you know?
The word tostada comes from ‘toasted tortilla’. Originally tostadas were invented to save and use stale corn tortillas. Instead of tossing those stale and tasteless tortillas in the trash, the people living in Latin America decided to deep fry them and create a delicious way to upcycle leftover food.
Fish Tostadas
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves – minced
- 1 yellow onion – medium chop
- 1 (28oz. can) roma tomatoes, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 (15oz.) canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 1⁄2 cups hot seafood stock or water
- 1⁄3 cup pickled jalapeños, sliced
- 20 pimento-stuffed Spanish olives – cut in half
- 3 tablespoons capers
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1⁄2 pounds cod, halibut, tilapia, or red snapper fillets – cut into 1” pieces
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- 1 can (16 oz.) refried beans, heated
- 8 corn tostadas
- 8 leaves leaf lettuce, washed and trimmed
- 1 avocado – sliced
Instructions
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In a bowl, dissolve tomato paste in hot seafood stock or water.
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In deep skillet over medium-high heat, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, stirring frequently, until aromatic and translucent, about 4 minutes. Mix in tomatoes and continue to sauté 2 minutes.
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Add in bay leaves, all of the canned tomatoes, diluted tomato paste water, jalapeño slices, olives, capers, salt and pepper. Low simmer uncovered 20 minutes.
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Immerse fish in sauce. Cook over medium-low heat until fish is opaque and flaky, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
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On each tostada, spoon about 1⁄4 cup warmed refried beans, 1 lettuce leaf, ½ cup of fish, vegetables and sauce. Top with avocado slice and serve with lime wedges.
Keywords: Mexican, tostadas, fish, cod, tilapia, red snapper, olives, beans, refried beans
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