This Hatch Chile Tequila Chicken Tostada is a meal your guests will never forget! This is a hearty, main course salad, and together the ingredients create a festival of delicious flavors!
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It’s time to celebrate Hatch chile season! It officially began this week and you’ll start finding them in stores today!
Hatch chiles are a prized New Mexican chile and are only available in August and September. These Southwestern chiles are grown in the Mesilla Valley, where the sunlight is intense and and the nights are cool. It’s this climate combination that creates wonderful earthy flavored, subtly sweet, delicious mild or hot Hatch chiles.
(FYI, Hatch chiles are one of the few chiles where hot and mild can be determined, even though they all look the same. They should be labeled as such in stores — if they’re not, I’d ask the produce department if they know, and if they don’t, ask them to cut into one for you. They can be very, very hot — or not at all.)
You can find Hatch Chile Roastings all over during the season. Typically you can have them roasted right in front of you. Super cool to watch, and delicious and ready to use when get home.
And in more Hatch chile news, Melissa’s Produce just came out with an awesome Hatch Chile cookbook packed with over 150 unique recipes.
What Can I Substitute for Hatch Chiles?
Since you can’t get them all year long, and you still might want to make this super tasty tostada . . . . you can substitute Poblanos or Anaheims.
This is the best tostada recipe ever — the chicken is amazing!
(In my humble opinion, of course.)
My foodie friends are writing about, and cooking with Hatch chiles, too:
The Stage is Set: Hatch Chile Season Opens from Lana of Bibberche
Hatch Chile Pesto Potatoes from Nancy of A Communal Table
Preserving Hatch Chiles from Nicole of Presley’s Pantry
This is not a sponsored post. I love Hatch chiles and Melissa’s Produce, and all opinions are my own.
Book photo is from MelissasProduce.com.
Depending on your heat preference, use mild, hot or a combination of Hatch Chiles.
Please note that 4 hours of the prep time is marinating time.
- 4 large Hatch Chiles, roasted, seeded (Click here for How to Roast and Peel Chiles)
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar
- 3 tablespoons grape seed oil
- 6 chicken tenders
- 1/4 cup good quality Tequila
- 4 corn tortillas
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
- 2 cups butter lettuce, finely chopped
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
- 1 cup tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
- 1/2 cup avocado, diced
- 1/8 teaspoon Hatch Chile powder
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Add the chiles and corn to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Blend until it's about 3/4 puréed and 1/4 chunky. (No, it doesn't have to be exact.) Mix in the oil, garlic and agave, and add the mixture to a shallow dish large enough to hold 6 chicken tenders. (This is a thick marinade.)
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Add the chicken to the marinade and be sure all of it is well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours, and ideally overnight. At some point during the marinating process, move the chicken around a bit, to be sure it marinates evenly.
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Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with grape seed oil, and place it over medium-high heat.
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Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
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Once the pan is very hot, add the chicken with all of the marinade. Sauté until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.
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Remove the chicken, but leave the marinade in the pan. Add the chicken to a plate and set it aside. Continue to sauté the marinade until it begins to brown.
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Deglaze the pan with the tequila. Use a wooden spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan as the tequila simmers. Cook just until the alcohol flavor has burned off, about 4 minutes. Then add this to the plate with the chicken.
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Once the chicken is cool enough to touch, either chop it into bite-sized pieces, or shred it with your hands. (I prefer shredded chicken in the tostada.)
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Add a bit more oil to the pan, place it over medium-high heat, and add as many of the tortillas as will fit. Sauté until the tortillas become slightly crisp, a couple minutes per side. (Repeat until all of the tortillas are done.)
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Place one tortilla in the center of four serving plates.
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Divide all of the remaining ingredients between the tortillas. (Start with the rice, and then add the greens, followed by the tomatoes and avocado.)
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Top with a pinch of the Hatch Chile powder.
After my first trip to New Mexico I was smitten with Hatch Chiles! The Tequila Chicken Tostada is the perfect recipe to savor all that chile goodness!
I would love to go to NM for the Hatch fest one year. So fun! 🙂 Thanks, Deb.
I once drove through Hatch, New Mexico and remember plumes of fragrant smoke billowing from the backyard, hand-cranked roasters processing the chilies that made this region famous. It’s a beautiful time of year. GREG
Sounds awesome, Greg. Hope I make it there during Hatch season one year!
What a delicious summery dish, V.
Gonna put it on the table when my hubby comes home! xo
Thank you so much, Colette! Hope he loves it!
This is such a gorgeous meal! I totally see us making it next week 🙂 Love the hatch chili’s!
Oh my…. I think you have all the food groups but chocate covered here… Hatch chiles, avocado, tequila… Yep, I think this is full-on perfection! ~ David
🙂
I think next year we should do a road trip to Hatch! Tostada recipe looks great!
Thanks Cathy. OMG how fun would that be?! I’d love it.