Cilantro Lime Braised Chicken Thigh Tostadas with Refried Lentils

Tostadas are a great way to use up stale tortillas. A tostada is a tortilla that it fried until crispy and then typically topped with, but not limited to, similar ingredients as a taco.

Course taco

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword chicken, chicken thighs, cilantro, lentils, lime, mushroom, tostada

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 10

Servings tostadas

Calories 325kcal

Ingredients

For the chicken:

2 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
Kosher salt, as needed
Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 cup dry white wine
small bunch cilantro
2 medium poblano peppers, seeded and sliced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, for garnish

For assembly:

2 cups refried lentils, get the recipe here
4 medium shiitake mushrooms, sliced into ¼”-wide strips
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
8 small (6-inch) corn tortillas
Vegetable oil, as needed, for frying
¼ cup sour cream
1/3 cup queso fresco, crumbled

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the chicken:

Preheat oven to 325ºF (170ºC).
Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat a 4½-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil and heat through.
Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down, sautéing until golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes each side.
Turn the chicken thighs skin side up and add the wine and cilantro to the pot. Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour, until meat is fork tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool. Discard the cilantro. Once the chicken is cool to the touch, shred with your hands or using two forks. Discard the bones or save for stock. Return the shredded chicken to the pot with the braising liquid.
Heat a griddle pan over high heat. Add the poblano peppers and cook until blistered on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from the grill pan and chop then add to the chicken mixture. Add the chopped cilantro and stir to combine.

For assembly:

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Toss the shiitake mushrooms in olive oil and season with salt. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until the mushrooms are half their size, golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
In a small sauté pan over medium heat, add enough vegetable oil to fill 2” of the pan and heat to 350ºF (180ºF). Add a tortilla and fry on both sides, until crispy, about 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

To serve:

To assemble the tostadas, top each crispy tortilla with a scoop of refried lentils, the chicken mixture, and crispy shiitake mushrooms. Drizzle sour cream over the top followed by the queso fresco.

Nutrition