Bean Tostadas with Avocado, Queso Fresco, and Homemade Salsa

For the Salsa, start by husking and rinsing 4-5 tomatillos. De-stem the tomatillos and roast them in the oven at 400F for about 15 minutes or so. De-stem and de-seed two chipotles in adobo. Add the roasted tomatillos to a blender along with a single chipotle and 2 peeled garlic cloves. Combine well and take a taste for heat. If you want more heat add the second chipotle. I usually make this fiery and concentrated, but keep in mind that you can always dilute it a bit with the optional sliver of onion.

I used homemade pot beans for this recipe, but you've got plenty of leeway on the refried beans. I simply added 2 cups of beans to a skillet along with some of their broth and mashed 'em up over medium heat until they were a thicker consistency. If you are starting with canned, whole beans and want to give them some flavor, I typically use this refried bean recipe.

Chop the flesh of an avocado into bits. I tossed the avocado bits with an on-the-fly dressing: a glug of olive oil, the juice of 1 lime, and a pinch of salt. But you can consider the dressing optional.

Be sure to warm up the tostada shells if using store-bought shells. I crisped up some thin corn tortillas for some homemade tostada shells. To do that, rub a thin layer of oil on each side of the corn tortillas using your fingers or a pastry brush. Give them 4-5 minutes per side in the oven at 400F, or until they are crispy and just starting to turn a darker brown. See Homemade Tostada Shells for some pics on this process.

Prepare the remaining ingredients. For me that meant crumbling the Queso Fresco and chopping up some fresh cilantro. Feel free to use whatever cheese you have available.

Once the tostadas and beans are warm it's time to build your masterpiece! For me that meant loading each tostada with: a healthy layer of refried beans, avocado bits, Tomatillo Chipotle Salsa, Queso Fresco, freshly chopped cilantro, and a final squeeze of lime.

Serve immediately and enjoy!