Flautas with Shredded Chicken

Another recipe prepared by SP, this one for Flautas with Shredded Chicken from the Williams-Sonoma Mexican cookbook.

We had a Mexican feast the night SP made these - I prepared yellow rice and refried beans while he did the flautas. And man, were these good! Crispy and crunchy, with great flavor. I loved the salsa verde and sour cream on top. We tried them with both corn and flour tortillas. The corn were crispier and the flour chewier, but I think we preferred the flour over the corn. Both were good, so just use whichever you prefer.

This was a bit time-consuming, mainly preparing the filling and rolling the flautas, but SP used a rotisserie chicken, which cut down on some of the prep. The recipe made way more than we could eat so I froze half for another time.

Flautas with Shredded Chicken
As seen in Williams-Sonoma Mexican Cookbook

1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more for frying
1/2 white onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
3 serrano peppers or jalapeno chiles, finely chopped (remove ribs and seeds)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large ripe tomato, finely chopped or 1/2 cup drained canned diced tomato
2 1/2 cups finely shredded poached chicken
sea salt
20 corn or flour tortillas, about 6 inches in diameter
4 cups finely shredded romaine lettuce
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
To serve - salsa verde, crema or sour cream, guacamole

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onion, chiles, and garlic and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and the color changes, about 3 minutes. Fold in the chicken, season to taste with sea salt, and heat thoroughly. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Lay a tortilla in the pan for a few seconds until hot. Transfer to a plate and lay some of the chicken filling across the lower third of the tortilla. Tightly roll the tortilla up into a tube and secure with a toothpick, then set aside. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

In a bowl, toss the lettuce with the lime juice. Spread it out on a serving plate or on individual plates, dividing it evenly.

Pour oil to a depth of at least 3/4 inch into a deep heavy frying pan and heat over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and registers 350 on a deep-frying thermometer. Add the flautas, a few at a time, and fry until crisp and pale gold on all sides. Using tongs, transfer them to paper towels to drain. Keep warm in a low oven while frying the rest.

Place the flautas on the lettuce. Spoon 1/2 cup salsa across the flautas and top with the crema. Serve with more salsa, crema, and guacamole, if desired.

**To freeze, prepare the flautas but do not fry them. Cover a baking sheet with plastic wrap and arrange the flautas on the sheet, evenly spaced so they aren't touching. Cover with more plastic wrap and place the baking sheet in the refrigerator until the flautas are completely cold. Wrap each flauta in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and freeze. To cook, thaw the flautas completely then unwrap and fry as directed above.