Easy Beef Tostadas Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes: 4
Ingredients Needed
For Base
- 4 corn tortillas (around 13cm/5inch in diameter)
- Oil for deep frying
For Mince
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 250g/8.8oz beef mince
- 20g/0.7oz taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 50g/1.7oz burger sauce
For Layering
- Choose one: 200g/7oz guacamole or refried beans (heat up beans until warmed through in frying pan)
- 50g/1.7oz sour cream
- 1 medium tomato
- 1/2 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
- 50g/1.7oz shredded cheese
- 20g/0.7oz pickled jalapenos
- 8 slices fresh jalapeno (optional if you like it spicy)
- Tajin seasoning
- Thin slices red onion
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 TOSTADA - First make the tostada base. Heat an inch of oil in a deep fryer or cast iron pot to 180C/350F and fry a corn tortilla for 3-3.5 minutes turning halfway until golden brown (cook 1 at a time). Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Drain on paper towels and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Step 2 BEEF MINCE - Add oil to a medium frying pan and add the mince, browning on all sides, around 5 minutes. Add the taco seasoning to this and toss and stir. Add the brown sugar and stir. Set aside to cool off while you prep the rest.
Step 3 ASSEMBLE - When mince is cool, stir in the burger sauce mixing well. Place the sour cream in a piping bag or a zip lock bag and snip the end. Chop up tomato and remove seeds and season with salt and pepper. Spread the guacamole or refried beans on the tortilla and then top with mince, diced tomato, lettuce, cheese, pickled and fresh jalapenos and red onion. Pipe sour cream on top and then sprinkle with Tajin. Serve straight away.
Personal Note
I'm not a great country driver. I feel much more at home in the city at 60kms/37miles an hour. But one day I was coming back from the Hunter Valley by myself and much of the motorway is marked as a 110km/68 mile zone. I usually sit in the slow left hand lane where I find a car that is going a little bit slower and just sit back and drive behind them.
It was a three hour drive home during peak hour so Mr NQN sent me a route that had one stop after one hour of driving to prevent me from getting too tired. I wanted to have a drink, stretch my legs because my bottom was getting numb and most importantly, connect my phone to charge it as it was at 17%. But somehow I missed that stop.
"Not to worry!" I said to myself and found a car that I just sat behind. Stopping might have delayed me too much and I was trying to minimise the amount of motorway driving when it was dark.
Then suddenly I realised that my battery was draining quickly and I was down to 8% then 7% and I still had one and a half hours to go. It's not a good idea to try and connect a phone at 110kms an hour and I started getting really worried.
I think I drove the next 10 minutes white knuckled thanking my lucky stars that I don't have to do this drive very often. Then I saw the welcome to Sydney sign relief washed over me. I turned into the first petrol station and almost kissed the ground! And even after that, I got home and made a batch of these beef tostadas because they're done in around 30 minutes!
So tell me Dear Reader, are you better at city or country driving? Do you make tacos at home? How about tostadas?