Enjoy a Veracruz favorite: Tinga tostadas

This week, we are preparing a very traditional dish — Tinga — from the Veracruz, Mexico, area.

TINGA TOSTADAS

Ingredients

1 pound tri tip

2 cups chopped onion, divided use

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

4 cups water

For the sauce:

2 cups chopped tomato, divided use

1 chipotle pepper (or more if you like your food spicy)

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 bay leaf

Pinch of cumin

Pinch of oregano leaves

Salt and pepper, to taste

For serving:

10 tostadas, see cook's notes

Shredded lettuce

Sliced avocado

Grated queso fresco

Sour cream, etc.

Cook's notes: For the tostadas, you can fry 10 corn tortillas yourself until crisp, or you can buy them premade at the supermarket.

Putting it together

In a large pot, cook the tri tip with 1 cup of chopped onion, the garlic, water and some salt over medium heat for about one hour, or until the meat is tender. Remove the meat from the pot and let it cool, then shred the meat and set aside.

Meanwhile, add 1 cup of chopped tomato to a blender along with the chipotle pepper and a splash of water and blend until smooth. In a large pan, add the oil and the other 1 cup of chopped onion and sauté until golden. Add the bay leaf and cumin and cook for about one minute. Add the remanding chopped tomato and some more water, if needed, and cook for about two minutes.

Add the oregano and the contents from the blender and cook for about 20 minutes over low heat. Add the shredded meat and some salt and pepper, to taste, and cook for about three minutes to heat through.

To serve, top each one of the tostadas with some of the meat mixture (tinga), some lettuce, avocado, cheese and sour cream and enjoy.

Antonio Villagomez is head chef and owner of Cilantro's restaurant and catering in Yuba City, Calif. Contact him at 530-844-2111. His website is cilantros.us.