Sunday, January 3, 2010

Weird Craving

While the rest of the modern world is busy getting their post New Year's diet on, I find myself craving...a chimichanga.  Which is weird because I can't remember when or where I might have had one before.  But there is definitely a chimichanga lodged in my memory bank.  It is crispy and corny and wickedly greasy and good.  But how to make one?  An Internet search turned up plenty of recipes--but these were corpulent specimens, more like fried burritos than the crunchy little cigars I remember from somewhere.  Typing in "skinny chimichangas" was no help either--you wouldn't believe how many "diet" versions of chimis there are out there! Who in their right mind wants to eat a Weight Watchers chimichanga?
 


So, I invented my own.  The filling was easy enough--sauteed tomatoes, onions, garlic, yellow peppers, and chopped roasted chicken seasoned with cumin, chili powder and oregano, with a healthy amount of cilantro stirred in at the end.  Filling the tortillas was more of a challenge--they kept cracking, even after I took Emeril's suggestion and nuked them for a few seconds under a damp paper towel.  Eventually, I ended up twice frying them--first dipping them in hot oil for a few seconds per side until pliable, then filling and rolling them, then frying them a second time until golden brown. 


Okay, so maybe they are a little plumper than they should be...but so am I.  Happy New Year!

2 comments:

  1. Twice fried! They look good, but I couldn't!

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  2. I Have personally tried these today and they were quite good. I stopped at eating three because I wanted to leave you with some dinner. Otherwise I could have eaten all. Please make them again to share with me.
    Love Dad.

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