Chicken Flautas
A big tray of flautas, or “flutes,” is sure to get everyone in the room feeling festive. 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken breasts or thighs 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon onion powder
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne,
if desired
Salt, to taste
Oil, to fry
8 corn tortillas
2 cups pico de gallo 1⁄2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
Hot sauce, such as Cholula Lime wedges
Instructions: Place the shredded chicken in a large bowl. Add the cumin, coriander, onion and garlic powder, cayenne and salt and toss until the chicken is well coated.
Add 1 inch of oil to a large cast-iron skillet and place it over a medium flame. When the oil is hot, quickly dunk a tortilla into the oil until just softened, about 5 seconds, and transfer to a plate. Place a ¼ cup of the chicken in the center of the tortilla and roll it into a tight cylinder. Place the flauta on a plate, seam side down. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and chicken.
When all the flautas are prepared, carefully place them in the hot oil, keeping the seam side down, and fry until golden and crisp on the bottom, 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip them and continue frying until golden and crispy all over, another 1-2 minutes. Drain as much oil as you can from the flautas and transfer to paper towels to continue draining and cool for 1-2 minutes.
To serve, place the flautas on a platter and dress that with the pico de gallo, crema or sour cream, hot sauce and lime wedges as desired. Makes 8 flautas