Ana Castro's Sunchoke Tostadas
Delight your guests at your next dinner party or win the potluck with this easy recipe! Sunchokes are the main ingredient, but they are entirely brought to life by the sweetness of California Prunes combined with smoky ancho chiles. Very important! Do not sub out those granny smith apples, because the tartness gives you the perfect punch of acid needed to balance this luscious dish.
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- blender or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 lbs sunchokes washed, peels on
- 12 tostadas
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced chives
- 1 cup small diced fresh celery
- 2 Granny Smith apples
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 4 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup fresh chervil or substitute with chives or scallion greens if unavailable
For the aioli
- 4 cups apple cider like AVAL or Isastegi
- 2 guajillo chiles seeded
- 3 chiles de arbol seeds on
- 1 cup prunes
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
- 3 cups neutral oil like canola
Instructions
- Prepare the Sunchokes: Dice the sunchokes into roughly 1/2 inch thick pieces. For cooking, either deep fry or toss them with neutral oil and a pinch of salt and roast in an oven preheated to 375°F for about 15 minutes or air fry until golden brown.
- Make the Prune Aioli: In a saucepan, combine apple cider with guajillo chiles, chiles de Arbol, and prunes. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half and ingredients are softened. Puree the mixture and let it cool. In a food processor, blend this puree with lemon juice, salt, an egg, and an egg yolk. Slowly add neutral oil to emulsify into aioli. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- Assemble the Salad: Toss cooled sunchokes with chervil, chives, celery, and prune aioli. Adjust the amount of aioli to your preference and season with salt.
- Prepare the Apple Garnish: Dice the apples and dress them with olive oil, salt, lemon zest, and juice.
- Assemble the Tostadas: Layer each tostada with the sunchoke salad, top with marinated apple cubes, and garnish with chervil.
Video
Notes
This recipe makes a lot of aioli. Ana suggests using any leftovers to make a Napa Cabbage Chicken Salad. If chervil is unavailable, swap for chives or scallion greens.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tostadaCalories: 778kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 4gFat: 64gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 33gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 123mgPotassium: 765mgFiber: 5gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 400IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 5mg