BUTTERMILK-FRIED CHICKEN TORTILLAS

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus marinating time Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves 4

Soft corn tortilla wraps are a great alternative to fast-food sandwiches. These tortillas are folded, rather than rolled, around the filling – a method I saw in Mexico while on a mezcal trip many years ago. You can fold up the three ingredients in any order you wish and vary the filling with shredded salad or various salsas. The buttermilk-frying approach also works well with fish and vegetables, using the same spiced flour to coat.

INGREDIENTS

– 120g buttermilk or natural yogurt

– 1 small egg, beaten

– 4 large boneless chicken thighs, flattened with a meat bat or steak hammer

– a couple of white cabbage leaves, finely shredded

– ½ tbsp cider vinegar – vegetable or corn oil, for deep-frying

– 100g gluten-free self-raising flour

– 1 tsp garlic powder

– 1 tsp paprika or Spanish pimentón

– 4 large soft tortilla wraps

– 2 tbsp mayonnaise mixed with ½-1 tbsp chilli sauce (depending on how hot you like it), or tomato ketchup

METHOD

Mix the buttermilk and egg together and season. Coat the chicken thighs in this and leave to marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Meanwhile, mix the shredded cabbage with the cider vinegar and a little salt and pepper. Leave in a bowl for the same time as the chicken, then drain.

To cook the chicken, preheat about 5cm of oil to 160-180C in a large, thick-bottomed saucepan or a deepfat fryer.

Mix the flour with the garlic powder and paprika, and season it well. Remove the thighs from the buttermilk mixture, shaking them to remove the excess, and coat well in the spiced flour.

Fry them in the oil for 3-4 minutes in total, in two batches if necessary, turning them over with a slotted spoon as they are cooking so they become evenly coloured and crisp. Drain on some kitchen paper.

Briefly warm the tortillas under a grill or in the oven for 30 seconds. In each one, make a cut from the outer edge (at six o’clock on the clock-face) to the centre. Place a chicken thigh in the quarter between nine and 12, a spoonful of cabbage at 12 to three, and some chilli mayo or ketchup between three and six. Starting with the empty quarter, fold up the tortilla in a clockwise direction and serve immediately.