NewsTaco

By Abigail Garcia

Just after trying chef Aaron Sanchez’s chipotle chicken on Monday’s event, I couldn’t wait more to start cooking the recipe that Sierra Mist® gave us to prepare it. I am amazed of how EASY it was, and how much flavor the chicken absorbs because of the slow cooking method and the flavors mixed into it. It’s one of those things you just can’t stop eating… very addictive! You can eat it into tacos, tortas, baguettes or just by itself! It’s delicious!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 3-4 hours

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 12oz can Sierra Mist Natural®
• 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes, with their juice

Directions

One of the most amazing gastronomical places in Mexico, is the Yucatan area, which is the birthplace of the delicious “cochinita pibil” (pork in annatto seeds sauce), which I have to say: I love! This is a healthier version of this dish, made with chicken instead of pork, but still as tasty, savory and delicious, as the original one.

Don’t feel intimidated by the extremely red-orangeish color of the “achiote” (annatto seeds), neither to add a good amount of red onion or habanero chile. They will make it even better! Enjoy!

Yields: 4-6 servings

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp or dried (mexican if possible) oregano
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 package of achiote paste
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1/2 cup of white vinegar or lime juice
• 2 whole big banana leaves, slightly roasted to tenderize them
• 4 chicken breasts cut in half
• 2 bay leaves
• - olive oil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• - Toppings:
• 1 small red onion, julienned
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 pinch of dried oregano
• 3 whole black peppercorns
• 4 habanero chiles, julienned

Directions:

By Melissa Pitts

One of my favorite things to use during the winter is my slow cooker. I use it to make beans, soups, stews, pretty much anything I can think of. While it gets a bad wrap for making everything soggy and mushy, it’s a great way to make soft and tender chicken for soups. Best part is, just set and forget it. This tortilla soup is easy, delicious, doesn’t have a ton of ingredients (you probably have most in your pantry anyways) and full of flavor.

Since it is winter tomatoes aren’t as fresh and flavorful so I use canned diced tomatoes. But, if you make this during the summer go ahead and use fresh tomatoes. Top this soup with tortillas strips (you can also just use tortilla chips if you don’t want to make the strips), some sour cream, and avocado if you like. Buen provecho!

Yields 6 servings

Cook Time: 6-8 hours

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes from a can, drained or 4 large plum tomatoes
• 1 pound chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 small white onion roughly chopped (it will get blended later so it doesn’t need to be perfect)
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 medium dried pasilla chile, stemmed, seeded, and torn into large pieces
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 corn tortillas, torn into 1-inch pieces (to thicken the soup)

For the tortilla strips:

• 6 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips
• canola oil, for shallow frying
•  salt

Directions:

By Melissa Pitts

Just in time for football season tlacoyos are fun little football shaped fried flattened empanadas filled with beans (and cheese). I had never heard of them until a short while ago and decided to give them a shot — and they turned out so good! They are a little labor intensive and patience is needed, if you have none that just make as bean filled empanadas and I promise no one will really care of notice.

You top the tlacoyos as you would a tostada, so pictured are two of them topped with shredded chicken, avocado, queso fresco, and salsa verde. Of course you can top with whatever you choose, either way they turn out delicious. This is a great appetizer or snack as they just the right size, but you can make them very big and have as a complete meal. Buen Provecho!

Yields: 6 servings

Preparation Time: 45 min

Cooking Time: 10 min

Ingredients: 

For the dough:

• ½ cup masa harina (preferred Maseca)
• ⅓ cup water (add more if the mixture is too dry)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• pinch of salt

For the filling:

• Refried beans, black, brown- whichever you like most, seasoned
• 1 cup shredded cheese like Oaxaca or mozzarella (optional)

Directions: 

1. Combine all the ingredients for the dough until it forms a soft ball. Add more water if the mixture is too dry and crumbles. Divide the dough into 6 equal small balls.
2. Using a tortilla press lined with plastic or parchment paper, place a piece of dough in the middle and smash it just as you would as if you were making regular tortillas. Rotate the dough to ensure even thickness. Place 2 tablespoons beans in the middle (and cheese if using). Lift the sides of the tortillas and press the edges together like an empanada. The goal is to really make an oval but mine mostly turned out like empanadas. Press gently so you have an even, flat empanada (or oval, or whatever you come out with).
3. Heat a dry griddle on medium heat and heat the tlacoyo until brown on both sides.
4. Once finished, heat another pan with some cooking oil, either vegetable or canola, and fry the tlacoyo until crisp about 2 minutes each. Drain on a paper towel.
5. Top the tlacoyos as you would a tostada. Serve immediately.

So you might ask yourself, why we happen to have our weekly list about chicken songs. Well, I recently became enamored of a band called Those Darlins and their song, “The Whole Damn Thing,” about eating a whole chicken.

I can’t help myself. So then I got to thinking about other chicken songs; I know there are other songs that mention chicken, but are not exclusively about chicken. So, like, what’s the deal with singing about chicken? I guess it doesn’t matter given these awesome songs.

Those Darlins, “The Whole Damn Thing”

Cibo Matto, “Know Your Chicken”

The Chicken Dance, or, El Pollo Loco in Spanish

Charles Mingus, “Eat That Chicken” which you can listen to here.

And those are the main ones, or did I forget one? Enjoy and do let me know which chicken songs I missed!

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD.

[Videos By Lace1906; ecram32; clubstar1686; Photo By thegreenj]

By Melissa Pitts

This is classic green and rich Guatemalan dish made from tomatillos, pepitoria,and chicken (although you can use turkey or pork) and can be found on most Guatemalan tables throughout the week. This recipe has you making the sauce from scratch, although there are powdered versions where you just add water- what’s the fun in that? This dish brings a little nostalgia to me and this version is the closest I have come to repeating the same flavor from my family’s kitchen (which apparently no one knows how it’s made- it just appears on the table somehow). This is best served with white rice, tortillas, and some some boiled güisquil or potatoes.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken cut into eight pieces or 4 chicken breasts, skin on and bone in
• 6 cups water
• 4 teaspoons powdered chicken consume (recommended Mahler or Maggie)
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 15 grinds fresh black pepper
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
• 1 carrot, cut into thirds
• 1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
• 2 stocks of celery, cut into thirds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup pepitoria (roasted and ground squash seeds)*** see note
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds, toasted
• 2 corn tortillas, toasted and torn into pieces
• 6-7 tomatillos, papery skins removed
• 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 scallions, roughly chopped
• 3 chile serranos- roughly chopped (ojo: if you don’t like your food so spicy, only do 1 or 2 and remove the seeds and veins)

Directions

1. For the chicken: cover the chicken with the water in a large pot. Add the consume, coriander, oregano, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, carrot, onion, celery, and salt. Let it all come to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Let the chicken simmer until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees F (about 30-45 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool slightly in the broth.
2. In the meantime, in another pot, cover the tomatillos with water, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let smmer for 15 minutes. Drain and let the tomatillos cool.
3. In a coffee grinder/spice grinder/blender grind the sesame seeds with the pepitoria until it is a fine powder.
4. Add the sesame and pepitoria, tortillas, tomatillos, cilantro, scallions and serrano peppers to a food processor or blender. Add 1 ½ cups of the broth from the chicken and process until smooth.
5. Return the chicken (you can remove the bones and skin before you do this) to the pot where you simmered the tomatillos. Pour over pureed sauce and add 1 ½-2 cups of the remaining broth to give it a sauce-like consistency- add more or less depending on how thick you want your sauce to be. Let everything simmer on low for about 20 minutes.  Serve.

*** Pepitoria can be tricky to find, you can substitute it with pepitas which are easier to find in Latin American supermarkets–although it does change the flavor.

Flaming Tortillas is dedicated to bringing the best of Latin cuisine, culture, and food news to your kitchen table. It features what’s in season right now,  favorite recipes from all over Latin America and fresh cultural Latin events around the country. Follow us on Twitter and get the latest news on Facebook.

By Melissa Pitts

This recipe actually comes from Abby’s mother, but I made them and have been addicted since. These enchiladas are easy, with a fresh and healthy salsa. You can fill the enchiladas with either meat, cheese, or chicken and they taste great no matter what.

If you are lucky enough to have a grill, you can skip the step where you simmer the tomatillos and grill them along with the onion, serrano chile and garlic and puree the mixture with cilantro and some warm water- it adds an amazing smokey flavor. The tomatillo salsa recipe can be used in countless ways and perfect for our chilaquiles recipe as well. Also, this is a great make-ahead meal for a day or two before, you can make the enchiladas and just pour the salsa when your ready to put them in the oven.

Cook Time: 20 mins

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Yields 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 6 tomatillos, husks removed
• 1 serrano chile, stem removed
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup onion, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, or ¼ cup, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil
• 10 corn tortillas
• 2 cups shredded chicken/ meat/ cheese (like Monterey Jack or Oaxaca), a rotisserie chicken from the store works perfect
• 1/2 cup queso fresco, or feta cheese, crumbled

Directions