Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

Something that I was earlier totally unfamiliar with, is buffalo sauce. I started to see it in so many websites and blogs, in so many recipes that I had to find out what it was.

As I’ve understood, buffalo sauce is a quite American thing. It’s like hot sauce, with a big splash of vinegar. It should also have a flavor of butter in it. You can prepare your own buffalo sauce, but I started to hunt for the real American one, and could find a bottle from a big market nearby. I’ve seen from several recipes, that a brand called Frank’s Red Hot is quite popular when preparing food with buffalo sauce. Mine was called Texas Pete Hot Sauce, and I suppose they are all quite the same.

The recipe for the following dish is adapted from Taste and Tell. This eventually became one of the best mexican foods, and definitely one of the best comfort foods I have ever prepared.

I highly recommend you to try it out!

Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

350g chicken breast, cooked and finely shredded

8 wheat tortillas

250g cream cheese, softened

50g blue cheese, crumbled (I actually used 100g blue cheese flavored cream cheese, which I recommend if you can find it)

100g yellow cheddar, grated

5-6 tablespoons buffalo sauce

2 spring onions, finely chopped

handful of fresh coriander, chopped

black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the dressing:

200g creme fraiche & some crumbled blue cheese

Preheat oven to 175C°

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except for tortillas and olive oil. Mix well.

Place 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture in the middle of each tortilla and spread vertically. Roll the tortillas up and place the seam side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. 

Brush the rolls with oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. They should be nice and golden when ready.

Mix the dressing ingredients and garnish the dish with some fresh coriander.

Serve with the dressing and buffalo sauce.

Chicken and Brown Bean Enchiladas

Comfort food… It’s not so much food as a source of delight and happiness, but as a source of, well, comfort! Something that is simple, unpretentious, delicious and most importantly, not fat/sugar-free.

I suppose everyone has their specific comfort food. Finding your own comfort food is especially necessary in these cold climates where I live, because it truly has the power to comfort you through out the long and cold winter. I know many people who like their comfort food light and energizing, like veggie soups and stews. I mean, I love veggie soups and stews and I cook them often myself too. But I like my comfort food heavy and tasty. The more chili, the better. I specifically associate it to be part of winter, or at least some cool days, and would not probably cook it in the blistering summer heat.

But yesterday, in the honor of April, we got more snow here up North. So it was more than a perfect day for my comfort food. Actually I have two favorites, both rich in flavor and calories. Out of those two (the other is Thai curry) I ended up cooking Mexican enchiladas.

There are trillions of recipes for enchiladas, and I have tried some different ones too. This one, however, is the one I always return to when I need something quick, simple and always as delicious. I usually do this without measuring any, so it might be necessary to add some spices if the amounts seem too small.

Comforting Chicken and Brown Bean Enchiladas

6-8 wheat tortillas

3 tablespoons canola oil

450g chicken file, cut in small pieces (you can also use minced meat, I prefer not to)

400g canned brown beans, washed and drained

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

70g tomato paste

250ml crushed canned tomatoes (I used one seasoned with salt, pepper and chili)

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika powder

2 teaspoons ground fresh chili paste

100g frozen or canned corn, drained

100g cheddar (or any other mild yellow cheese), shredded

salt and black pepper, to taste

for garnish:

3 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced

handful of chopped fresh coriander

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

crème fraiche or sour cream

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet and add chicken. Sautee until the pieces are almost cooked. Add onion and garlic and keep stirring for a few minutes more. At the same time crush the chicken pieces smaller with a spatula.

When the onion and garlic have gotten a little color add dry spices and sautée for 2 minutes until the flavors of the spices start coming out. Add the tomato paste and canned beans and stir so that the flavors mix evenly.

Add 3 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes and the corn. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Let simmer slowly for a few minutes and remove from the heat. I like my enchilada filling mushy and thick like this, but you can also add a splash of water in it.

Spread the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on the bottom of a large casserole or pan. Spoon 3 heaping tablespoons of the filling on each wheat tortilla and spread it vertically in the middle as a stripe. Roll the tortillas so that the filling stays inside, but you don’t need to be too strict with this.

Place the rolls into the pan seam down, spoon on top your remaining crushed tomatoes and sprinkle with cheddar. Bake in 200 C for about 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and golden brown.

Garnish with scallions, coriander and cherry tomatoes.

Serve with crème fraiche or sour cream.