¡Tacos de pollo!

Serves 4

I hear you, I hear you, all this Mexican cooking, but where are the tacos? HERE!! This recipe is really, really one of my favourites.  Truly if I had a choice and they were diet-friendly, I’d most probably eat them at least once a week.

The salsa for today is one of my secrets, my mom taught me how to cook it, and every time I prepare it my guests just love it.

Now what is a taco? A taco is anything that is contained by a tortilla, usually a maize tortilla. (toɾˈtiya', with a soft "y"... al Spanish words with double l are pronounced like that). Tortillas are soft, round, flat disks similar to a wrap or roti, made with either maize or wheat flour.  You can harden tortillas for other Mexican meals, or have them soft.   They are NEVER a hard disc folded in a V shape.  This is just silliness. Have you ever tried to eat one of those abominations with anything in them?  One bite and the whole thing collapses… it makes no sense so please try to use the real thing, believe me it’s worth the effort.  For this recipe you can't use flour tortillas (besides the fact that the ones we get in supermarkets are too big, the flour ones are too absorbent, and won't fry properly). If you're after some maize tortillas in Jozi, drop me an email  at lolainafrica@gmail.com and I'll put you in touch with the person I get them from.... for want if a better word, my dealer!

What you need

Maize Tortillas                                    16

Chicken breasts                                   4 boiled as per previous recipes and shredded click here

Lettuce                                                  ¼, shredded very finely

Sour cream

White Cheese                                       a handful,  shredded

Romano Pecorino cheese               a pinch

Tomatoes                                            4

Onion                                                  ¼, Chopped

Garlic                                                   1 clove

Chilli (Serrano)                                 1

Coriander                                           1 handful, chopped

Avo                                                       1, cut into squares

Sea salt                                                a pinch

Toothpicks                                         20

Oil

In a dry frying pan or baking tray, warm a tortilla until it is just a little bit brown on both sides....at home we use a Mexican comal, but the frying pan will work fine.  Don't heat the tortillas too much, or they will go hard and won't fold; they need to be supple.   In another frying pan, preheat about 1/2 a cup of oil.  Take some of the shredded chicken and lay it into one tortilla.  Roll the tortilla and secure the edge with a toothpick.  Once you've done enough to more or less fill the frying pan, fry until they're golden.  Remove them and place on a rack or plate with absorbent paper towel.   Carry on until you’ve done all the tortillas.

 

For the salsa, blacken the tomatoes, garlic and chilli.  When the tomatoes' skins start peeling off, blend all the blackened ingredients coarsely, with the sea salt. Add the chopped onion, coriander and avo.

 

 

To eat: set a group of tacos on your plate and remove the toothpicks.  Put some lettuce on top of them, drizzle with a little sour cream, sprinkle some of the cheese and finally spoon on some of that chunky salsa.  Eat immediately…yes with your hands; this isn't neat, prissy food. It's a little bit messy... It's tactile, earthy, real food.  ¡Buen provecho!

Love, LOLA