Chickladas

These are especially good served on rice, topped with creme fraiche or sour cream and a side of creamy refried beans.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 1 tsp dried sweet paprika
• 1 tsp dried garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried onion powder
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 2 TBSP chili powder
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 small red onion diced fine
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 TBSP tomato paste
• 1 Knorr Chicken Stock Cube
• 16oz/400ml can of chopped tomatoes in tomato sauce
• 16oz/400ml hot water
• 10oz/280g cooked, shredded or diced chicken
• 6 large flour tortillas/wraps
• 8oz/225g finely grated strong cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/350f and prepare an shallow 11″/27cm square baking dish (or something close to that) by rubbing the bottom and sides with a little oil to coat it.
2. Measure out the chili powder, oregano, coriander, paprika, cumin, garlic & onion powder into a bowl, this is the seasoning mix. Set it aside.
3. Heat your saucepan over a medium high heat and then add the olive oil and diced onions. Fry the onions till they just start to brown then put in the salt and continue cooking till they get a really nice brown color on them. Don’t let them burn or crisp up, you want them to be soft. Once the onions have browned add the bowl of seasoning mix all at once and stir vigorously for about 30 seconds, you should be able to smell the seasonings. Add the tomato paste and work the paste into the onion and seasoning mixture for further 30 seconds.
4. Crumble in the stock cube, can of tomatoes and the water (just fill the tomato can to the top to measure). Give it all a good stir, bring it up to a boil and then add in the chicken, bring it up to a boil again and then turn down to a simmer and leave for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. When the sauce has finished simmering remove it from the heat to a trivet.
5. To Assembling the dish, keep in mind you’ll need half the cheese divided 6 ways for the filling and the other half for the top. Using a slotted spoon, strain out some of the chunky bits and put approximately 3 heaped tablespoons of it into one of the flour tortillas, sprinkle over a small hand full of cheese and roll tightly.  Place in the baking dish then repeat with the other 5 tortillas placing them snugly against each other until they are all in the baking dish evenly, make adjustments if needed.
6. Pour the remaining sauce over the rolled tortillas and spread it out as evenly as possible so that they are all covered, poke the ends of the tortillas down into the sauce if they are sticking up. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the top and place the baking dish in a preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until all the cheese is melted and golden brown. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 Servings

Veggilada Variation – Leave the chicken out of the sauce and substitute the chicken stock cube for a vegetable one. Put 1/6 of a room temperature (6oz/435g) can of refried beans and 3 TBSP of sauce in each tortilla, other wise follow the recipe as written.