Crunch Into These Cured Salmon Tostadas!
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Chef Ben Poremba of St. Louis Mexican mecca Nixta loaned us this tostada recipe for Holy Frijoles Week. Tired of tacos? We don't really believe you; however if you're simply looking to switch things up and get a little crunchy, salmon tostadas may just be the thing to shatter you out of your rut.
This recipe is a collaboration between myself and Executive Chef Tello Carreon. We like to take a familiar item and give an unexpected angle of refinement and ingredients. Tacos are just a couple of quick bites, but tostadas can give you a bit more, with more of a crunch. The salmon tostada was inspired by both of our heritages — Tello's Mexican background and my Israeli heritage. It's cured salmon, which we pair with more of a Mediterranean flavor profile: blood oranges, fennel, lime, mandarins. It's a prefect marriage of our backgrounds into one bite.
Tostada tip: using a tostada basket, line up (homemade or artisan quality) tortillas, and deep fry until crispy, for about 6-8 minutes. We use blue corn and yellow corn tortillas. This step can be done up to a day prior serving.
- 1 fennel
- 1 blood orange
- 1 large lime
- 1 sour orange
- 2 radishes
- 10 fresh picked mint leaves
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- Juice and zest of 1 large lime
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 4 yellow corn tostada shells
- 1/2 pound fresh sliced sushi-quality salmon, or gravlax (cured salmon) or smoked salmon
- :::salad:::
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Season with salt. Mix this salad just prior to serving to help maintain crispness.
- :::mayo:::
- In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredient together. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- :::tostadas:::
- Smear chile lime mayo on tostada shells. Top with a couple of slices of salmon. Mound with a fistful of fennel-citrus salad. Season with sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately.