Crab tostadas

In Coyoacán in Mexico City, my local market has become famous for (among other things) a tostadas stand that has expanded and become hugely popular. The stand offers a wide variety of tostadas: chicken tinga, prawn cocktail or pata (cow’s hooves), which is one of my favourites.

I like to pair fresh crab with the simple, raw freshness of a jalapeño and lime mayonnaise, and serve this with crispy tostadas and avocados.

45 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY | LC

corn tortillas 8 grapeseed or vegetable oil 2 tsp

sea salt flakes for the tortillas

crabmeat (a mix of white and brown) 250g

avocado 1 large, peeled, stoned and thinly sliced

coriander leaves and lime wedges to garnish

JALAPEÑO AND LIME MAYONNAISE

jalapeños 2, trimmed and finely chopped

garlic 1 clove, chopped

coriander leaves 10g

mint 14 leaves

mayonnaise 100g

lime 1, juiced to make 2 tsp

1 Heat the oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 3½ and set a wire rack over a baking tray lined with baking paper.

2 To make the mayonnaise, put the jalapeños, garlic, coriander and mint in a small blender. Add a pinch of salt and blitz to a purée. Mix the purée with the mayonnaise, then stir in the lime juice and taste for seasoning.

3 To make the tostadas, lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with the oil. Arrange the tortillas on the wire rack and bake for 20-30 minutes or until crisp, turning halfway through. Sprinkle with some sea salt flakes.

4 Put the tostadas, crabmeat, avocado slices, mayo, some coriander leaves and lime wedges on a serving platter for guests to serve themselves: spread some mayo over a tostada, then top with a few avocado slices, followed by some crabmeat, coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime.

PER SERVING 530 kcals | fat 34.6G saturates 4.4G | carbs 32.7G | sugars 1.9G fibre 7.6G | protein 18.3G | salt 0.7G