I don’t know about you, but it’s after Easter and I’m ready for a change. The problem most of us face is we have TONS of leftovers; turkey or ham, scalloped potatoes, and fruit salad for days. These Smoky Chipotle Turkey Tortas are my answer to this double dilemma—a spicy, cheesy sandwich that cures the Easter doldrums but still knocks out some leftovers at the same time.
This Mexican-style sandwich takes shredded leftover turkey and mixes it with garlic and lime juice and spicy, minced chipotle en adobo. This smoky mixture gets piled on a soft bolillo roll that has been slathered with creamy black beans.
Now if this sounds to good to be true, just wait— cover all this with melty Oaxaca cheese and pop that bad boy under the broiler. After a couple minutes the bread will be golden and toasted on the edges and the cheese will be bubbly and melted.
The final touches are something crunchy and fresh. I think a balance of soft and crisp is essential to a good torta. So on goes fresh baby arugula, sharp slices of red onion, and thin wafers of radish, also a hefty drizzle of Mexican Crema, giving the sandwich a sour tang that makes this torta completely irresistible.
The Oaxaca cheese and crema absolutely make this torta. The cheese melts beautifully and covers the turkey and beans in a luscious blanket of rich cheese and the Crema Mexicana is nice and thick with a gentle brightness that is a relief from the spiciness of the chipotle chiles.
These tortas are so good you might find yourself making Easter dinner all over again just to have the turkey for tortas the next day.
Smoky Chipotle Turkey Tortas
Easy as can be, this recipe for Smoky Chipotle Turkey Tortas uses leftover holiday turkey or rotisserie chicken and is ready in 30 minutes. With refried black beans, Oaxaca cheese, and a fresh sprinkle of arugula and radishes this Mexican-style sandwich is the prefect weeknight meal.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 chipotles en adobo, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 ½ pounds cooked turkey or rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1 tablespoon chicken broth or leftover turkey stock
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Juice of 1 lime
- 4 bolillos or French rolls
- 1 (15-ounce) can refried black beans, warmed
- 1 (10-ounce) package Oaxaca cheese, grated
- ½ cup Crema Mexicana
- ½ bunch radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 cups baby arugula
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat broiler to high and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and chipotles and season with salt. Let cook 1 minute then add turkey, broth, and paprika. Cook until combined and warmed through.
- Stir in lime juice and taste. Add more salt if needed.
- Slice bolillos in half, horizontally and place them cut side up on the prepared baking sheet (you may have to broil tortas in two batches depending on the size of the bread).
- Divide beans between the pieces of bread and spread to cover. Top one side of each torta with turkey then divided cheese between each piece of bread.
- Broil tortas until bread is toasted and cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.
- Top each torta with a tablespoon or so of crema, radishes, arugula, and onions. Close each torta, slice in half and serve.
Notes
Makes these tortas any time with shredded rotisserie chicken instead of turkey or broil a few turkey breasts for 8-10 minutes, then shred. You can even use leftover ham or roast beef.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you make with your Easter leftovers?
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