Beef and Fontina Tostaditos
The best American name for this vegetable would probably be “Mexican green tomato”, but they actually taste nothing like regular tomatoes, In fact, the tomatillo is not a tomato at all. The tomatillo has a tart, lemony flavor that is enhance when cooked (especially roasted) and is an excellent base for salsas. While salsa (salsa verde) is the most popular way to enjoy tomatillo, they can be used in other ways. Tomatillos contain high amounts of vitamin A&C. Tomatillos are our #2 sales item!
Ingredients:
4 medium tomatillos, husked and finely chopped
2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. minced cilantro
1 tsp. hot sauce
4 oz. thickly sliced roast beef, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Fontina cheese
48 mini round corn tortilla chips
salt
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a small bowl, combine the tomatillos, red onion, cilantro and 1/2 tsp. of the hot sauce.
In a medium bowl, combine the roast beef with the Fontina and the remaining 1/2 tsp. of hot sauce. Arrange half of the tortilla chips on a large rimmed baking sheet and spoon the roast beef filling onto the tortilla chips, then top with the remaining 24 chips.
Bake the tostaditos for 5-7 minutes, or until the filling is hot and bubbling. Transfer them to a platter. Season the tomatillo relish with salt and spoon a little on top of each tostadito and serve immediately.
Yields 2 dozen tostaditos.
Recipe from Grace Parisi, as it appeared in Food & Wine Magazine, October 1999.