A crunchy twist on the BLT

Turn a favorite summer sandwich into a crispy, spicy tostada

I recently helped a friend, Emmanuel “Manny” Galvan of Bolita Masa, with a tostada pop-up at the Mission District’s natural wine mecca Bar Part Time.

With our two-person line, we made about 150 impeccable (if I may say so) blue corn tostadas in two hours. They had toppings like creamy stracciatella cheese with blistered spring vegetables and salty preserved lemon; super savory black garlic-dressed beef tartare with white bean purée; and local halibut ceviche with cucumber, serrano and avocado.

While topping the tostadas with incredibly thin slices of avocado and that silky fresh cheese, it got me thinking about the endless possibilities of creative deliciousness we smash in between two slices of bread for a sandwich — and how the same logic can be applied to a crispy tortilla disc. Also, what if it was actually a marriage of my favorite summer sandwich, the BLT, with the ease and lightness of a crunchy, fried tortilla?

It wasn’t quite tomato time then, but it is now, and topping a tostada with juicy-sweet tomatoes is a perfect pairing for summer.

I’m currently in Mexico City, and here at my local market, tomatoes are in all colors and shapes. The same jewels are also available in the Bay Area: bodacious red orbs, rusty orange and purple speckled with pointy ends that look like spinning tops. Everything else I needed for this BLT tostada idea (besides the mayonnaise) was at my market, too — a couple at the far end sells fresh tortillas and salsas.

Along the way, I saw herbs, like impeccable flowering cilantro with tiny seeds and purslane, a succulent-type green that tastes like the definition of “crisp” and “fresh.” It adds body to salads or can top almost any dish to add a little brightness. Manny topped his rich tartare tostada with this vibrant herb.

There’s more than one way to crisp up a tortilla, but I like Manny’s method. First, he lightly toasts the fresh tortillas in a dry pan, then fries them in hot oil, which yields a lighter tostada because it fries for less time, absorbing less oil.

After I crisp up the tortillas, I make a salsa macha mayonnaise to spread on top. Salsa macha is a rich chile and garlic oil-based salsa that sometimes has toasted nuts, but not always, and vinegar. It has a very deep well of flavor from the toasted chiles. Sometimes a little sugar is added too, which balances it out. The exact ingredients really depend on who’s making it, and it’s a great weekend afternoon project, but usually I buy a jar and just keep it next to my chile crisp. (If you don’t have salsa macha on hand, you could use chile crisp here instead.)

At the end, all I need to do is generously slather that rich chile mayo on the toasted tortilla, then layer my sweet tomatoes, some smoky bacon and purslane. I squeeze fresh lime juice over it all, and I’ve got a delicious, summery meal that feels fresh, new and super easy to make at home.

Christian Reynoso/Special to The Chronicle Easy-to-make BLT Tostadas With Salsa Macha Mayo transforms the classic sandwich into a summery meal that tastes fresh and new.