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Tostadas de mariscos
Prawn and octopus tostadas
Ensenada's crisp tostadas piled with a cooked prawn and octopus cocktail
Walk past the fish market in Ensenada and the seafood carts are already busy by mid-morning, piling crisp corn tostadas high with a lime-bright mix of prawns, octopus, tomato, onion and coriander. They are eaten standing up with a squeeze of lime and a few drops of hot sauce, often as the first stop of a weekend in Baja. This version uses only cooked seafood: prawns poached until pink and opaque, and octopus bought ready-cooked from a fishmonger or deli counter. The mix is cold, juicy and crunchy, with creamy avocado on top. Chef's tip: assemble each tostada right before it is eaten, as even five minutes of waiting softens the shell.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the seafood
- 14 oz raw prawnspeeled and deveined
- 1 ½ tsp salt1 tsp for the water, the rest for the mix
- 9 oz cooked octopusbought ready-cooked, sliced into rounds
For the mix
- 2 tomatoesseeded and finely diced
- ½ white onionfinely diced
- ½ cucumberseeded and finely diced
- 1 serrano chillifinely chopped
- ½ oz fresh corianderchopped
- ¼ cup lime juicefrom about 3 limes
To assemble
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 avocadosripe, sliced
- 1 tbsp Mexican-style hot sauce (optional)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Bring a pan of water to a simmer with two-thirds of 1 tsp salt. Add 14 oz raw prawns and poach for 2–3 minutes until pink all over and opaque right through, then drain and spread on a plate to cool.
3 minStep 2: Chop the cooled prawns into bite-size pieces and put them in a bowl with 9 oz cooked octopus. Keep the bowl in the fridge if you are not assembling straight away.
Step 3: Add 2 tomatoes, ½ white onion, ½ cucumber, 1 serrano chilli, ½ oz fresh coriander, ¼ cup lime juice and the rest of ½ tsp salt and stir gently. Taste: it should be sharp, salty and fresh.
Step 4: Spread each of 8 corn tostadas with a thin layer of 4 tbsp mayonnaise, which also helps keep the shell crisp.
Step 5: Spoon the seafood mix onto the tostadas with a slotted spoon so the extra juice stays behind. Don't drown them in the liquid: that is the usual reason they go soggy and break.
Step 6: Top with slices of 2 avocados and a few drops of hot sauce, and eat at once.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tostadas de mariscos take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
- What can I use instead of white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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