Make chef Marcela Valladolid's chicken tostadas and fresh homemade salsa

By Tony Morrison

If you're looking to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a top-notch dish ready to serve in 30 minutes or less, look no further!

Chef Marcela Valladolid from Food Network's "Mexican Made Easy" helps us celebrate Mexican heritage and food by making chicken tostadas and fresh homemade salsa with Ginger Zee, using just a few ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!

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@chefmarcela has the perfect #CincoDeMayo recipe for @ginger_zee but really it’s an excuse to celebrate Mexican heritage and food every day! Really great substitutions for sour cream (if you have sensitivity or allergy) and substitution ideas for this isolation time. ❤️ #StayAtHome

A post shared by Good Morning America (@goodmorningamerica) on May 5, 2020 at 1:49pm PDT

Ingredients Chicken Tostadas

• 4 servings
• 6 to 8 corn tortillas
• 2 to 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 6 cups shredded lettuce tossed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper
• 2 avocados
• Mexican crema or any plant-based cream
• 12 to 16 ounces refried beans (canned or packaged organic is good)
• Fresh Salsa (Recipe follows)
• Queso fresco or any crumbling cheese

Fresh Salsa Makes about 1 ½ cups

• 3 large roma tomatoes
• ¼ onion, cut into 2 smaller wedges
• 1 large jalapeño
• 1 garlic clove, unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus 1/3 cup
• 1 lemon, juiced

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Sometimes I like to share life-altering cooking tips. How do you get an ultra crunchy tostada with ZERO fat? You bake it directly on a rack, just like my mom did. Swipe for video and crunch-ability proof from our dearest chicatANNA 🐜 (if you know, you know)... You are most certainly welcome. . . Also, that’s my next live; the easy healthy tostada to make with your leftover PERFECT Roast Chicken a lá Carina with all the toppings that my mom used to prep AND an easy, homemade FRESH salsa because I KNOW not a single one of the 257, 982 followers on here PURCHASE salsa. Ever. 🤪 @carinaluzvalladolid717 get your apron ready. Actually order one from amazon because we all know you don’t own one.

A post shared by Marcela Valladolid (@chefmarcela) on May 1, 2020 at 2:21pm PDT

Directions

Chicken Tostadas

Preheat oven to 350F. Place tortillas directly on oven rack, being careful not to stack them. Bake until toasty and crunchy, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes. Cool completely. Spread some refried beans on tostada, top with chicken, then dressed lettuce, avocado slices, fresh salsa, drizzle of crema and cheese crumbles and serve.

Fresh Salsa

Place tomatoes, jalapeño, onion and unpeeled garlic in heavy cast iron skillet set over high heat with no oil. Cook, turning occasionally until blackened in large spots, about 25 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and cook, carefully scraping bottom of pan, until very fragrant, about 10 minutes longer. Cool slightly and take stem and seeds off of jalapeño and add to blender. Peel garlic and add to blender. Add tomatoes, onion, lemon juice and 1/3 cup olive oil to blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and serve warm.