Chicken and Citrus Slaw Tostadas

New Yorker Paula Disbrowe left city life behind and moved to a Texas ranch in 2002. Her cookbook, Cowgirl Cuisine (HarperCollins/Morrow Cookbooks, 2007) of down-home recipes with cosmopolitan touches (where these tostados appears) chronicles her journey from city girl to cowgirl.
Pairing
An off-dry Vouvray (Chenin Blanc) has enough curviness to balance the tartness here, but its acidity matches the lime and vinegar notes well; recommended producers include Château Moncontour and Domaine Huët.
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Six 6-inch corn tortillas
- 3 ounces firm tofu, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 canned chipotle chile in adobo (see Note below)
- 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 small green cabbage, finely shredded (3 cups)
- 1/4 small red cabbage, finely shredded (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot, finely grated
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 1/2 cups shredded chicken (from 1 medium roast chicken, skin removed)
- Lime wedges, for garnish
- Additional chopped chipotle chiles in adobo, for garnish
In a small skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add 1 tortilla and fry until golden and crisp, turning once, about 2 minutes. Transfer the tostada (fried tortilla) to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
In a food processor or blender, combine the tofu with the lime juice, vinegar, honey, mustard, and chipotle chile and process until smooth. Add 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a thin stream and process until creamy. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the orange and lime zest and season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste.
In a large bowl, toss the cabbages, onion, carrot, and cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Add all but 3 tablespoons of the dressing and toss.
To serve, set the tostadas on plates and mound the slaw on top. Add the chicken to the now-empty bowl, toss with the reserved 3 tablespoons dressing, and mound on the slaw. Garnish each tostada with lime wedges and additional chipotle peppers in adobo, if desired. Serve.
Note: Chipotle chiles in adobe can be hot. If you are sensitive to spicy food, begin by adding half a chipotle, taste, and either stop there, or add the remaining chile (and heat)