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Mollie Dickenson's Guacamole Tostados

Source of Recipe

From "Cooking for Comfort" by Marian Burros


Recipe Introduction

"My friend Mollie Dickenson once brought this to a cooperative dinner party. It disappeared so quickly that she achieved instant fame, and now she is always asked to bring this. It may not be as recognizable as comfort food to those of us brought up on the East Coast or in the middle of the country, where the only way we ever ate an avocado was with shrimp. But the ingredients in this must have been comfort food early on in the West and Southwest, where Mexican influences are as much a part of the landscape as baked beans are in New England."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 cup dried pinto beans (see Note)
â—¦ ¾ cup chopped onion
â—¦ 1 large clove garlic, minced
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
â—¦ 2 ½ tablespoons mild chili powder
â—¦ 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
â—¦ 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
â—¦ 3 ounces tomato paste
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon ground coriander seed
â—¦ 8 drops hot pepper sauce
â—¦ Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
â—¦ 2 medium or large ripe avocados
â—¦ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
â—¦ 1 cup sour cream
â—¦ 2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
â—¦ ¾ cup chopped green onions
â—¦ 1 cup chopped pitted black olives
â—¦ 2 cups coarsely grated sharp white Cheddar
â—¦ â…” cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
â—¦ Good-quality tortilla chips


Recipe

To prepare the beans, cover them with water and soak overnight.
Alternatively, cover them with water and bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes and allow the beans to sit in the hot water for 1 hour. Drain off the soaking water. Cover the beans with fresh water, and bring to a boil. Add ½ cup chopped onion, garlic, and ½ teaspoon of the cumin. Cover and simmer until beans are tender, about an hour. Stir occasionally. Drain.

Place the beans in a food processor with ¾ teaspoon of the cumin, 1 ½ tablespoons of the chili powder, vinegar, butter, tomato paste, coriander, and hot pepper sauce. Process until mixture is smooth. Adjust the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Peel the avocados and mash coarsely with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix the sour cream with the remaining 1 tablespoon chili powder and ¼ teaspoon cumin.

Spread the bean mixture in a shallow serving dish. Top with the mashed avocados, then the sour cream mixture. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight, if desired. Up to an hour before serving, sprinkle the tomatoes evenly over the sour cream. Sprinkle with the green onions, olives, and Cheddar, and top with the cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.

Makes 16 servings



Note:
• You can substitute 3 cups of canned beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained, for the fresh-cooked beans, but add the other ingredients cooked with the beans to the recipe. Frankly, Mollie Dickinson uses canned beans in her recipe.

• This recipe is best prepared a day or even two ahead.
Just don't add the tomatoes, green onions, olives, cheese, and cilantro until you're ready to serve.