In honor of Cinco de Mayo, being celebrated tomorrow just about everywhere in the country if you dig around a bit, and observed with gusto here in the Lone Star State, here’s a quick and easy yet kinda uptown appetizer to set out at your next shindig (or perhaps brighten up your own Cinco de Mayo dinner) – Tomatitos con Guacamole.
Fresh, juicy cherry tomatoes are a win pretty much no matter what you do with them, and there few, if any at all, things you put on a plate to enjoy that aren’t made better with a big dollop of great guacamole (at least a perfectly ripe, sliced avocado) alongside.
Around our camp, ever since my lovely wife watched Tortilla Soup (the movie) and saw how Martin (Hector Elizondo) – a Mexican master chef – prepared these for the daughter of his love interest, we’ve had to craft tomatitos con guacamole with a little ‘hat’ of toasted corn tortilla. It’s an easy addition and the little bit of crunch and toasted corn flavor complements the package nicely.
You need a great guacamole (why eat any other version, and no store-bought disasters tubs of green goo here), try this one if you’re looking for a new version with a little kick.
1 12- or 16-ounce container cherry tomatoes
1 recipe good guacamole (see comments above)
3-4 corn tortillas
EVOO or avocado oil
If topping with the mini-tostada pieces, preheat the oven to 350, and using your smallest cookie cutter stamp out as many little tortilla rounds as you’re making tomatitos from corn tortillas you’ve brushed with EVOO or avocado oil. (Sprinkle with a little salt, cumin, and even paprika or chile powder before baking for a little more interest.)
Brush a baking sheet with a bit more oil, lay out the tortilla rounds and bake for 15-20 minutes until done, turning once. Cool.
Stir up your guacamole magic, hold in the fridge.
Wash the tomatoes, cut off approx. 1/4 of one end, and hollow out using a very small melon baller – remove the seeds and core leaving the shell of the tomatoes intact. Alternately, slice in half down the long axis and core…
Now stuff each tomatito with guacamole, top with a tostada disc, and line up however you wish on a platter.
Make a big plate full, they’ll be gone before you turn around.
Enjoy.
