This recipe was my first experience eating a Chimichanga. Kieran told me a chimichanga is typically a deep fried burrito. I love Mexican cuisine and was overjoyed to make a healthier version of this popular dish. This recipe has you browning both sides of the chimichanga in a small amount of oil, then baking them which cuts down on the deep fat frying naughtiness! And the end result was good…..real good! I would make this again in a heart beat! In fact, they freeze so well I’ll get the pleasure of eating them again soon! Instead of making 4 large burrito sized Chimichanga’s, I made 10 smaller ones. My husband and I each ate 2 and froze the rest so now we have a tasty treasure trove of deliciousness chilling out in my freezer.
Chicken and mushrooms are one of my favorite food combo’s but I love the idea of experimenting and making this with an array of meats, vegetables, and different spices.
(^ OMG….this pic is of the chimichanga’s chicken/mushroom filling. Just give me a spoon so I can go to town munching on pure amazing flavor)
Speaking of which, vegetarians and vegans can easily adapt this dish for them! Skip the meat, pack it with your choice of veggies, find a vegan cheese, use water instead of egg whites, a vegan tortilla suitable for your needs, and BLAMO; you will have a fantastic dinner in no time!
- vegetable oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 poblano peppers, diced
- 8oz package of mushrooms, sliced
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into little pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 4 oz can mild green chilies
- 1 or 2 tbsp cold water to deglaze pan once chicken is brown
- 1 cup Mexican cheese
- 4 large burrito tortillas or you can use a package of 10in tortillas and make smaller ones.
- 1 egg white
- salt and pepper to taste
- Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a skillet.
- Toss in the onion, peppers, mushrooms, and a big pinch of salt, and stir everything up.
- Cook everything until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are nicely browned (takes anywhere from 7-15 minutes). Now push all those delicious veggie around the edges of the skillet so there is a decent sized empty circle in the middle.
- Drizzle some more oil in the center of the skillet, and add your chicken. Don't stir the chicken into the veggies at first. Leave the chicken alone and let it start to brown on one side. Now add, over the chicken, the oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, pepper, chipotle chili powder, paprika, and another pinch of salt. Now give the chicken a mix, but keep them in the center of the skillet. You are just trying to brown up the chicken a little bit but don't worry about browning them all equally or flipping them to ensure they brown on both sides. Cook the chicken in the center of the skillet for approx 2-3 minutes. Now sprinkle in your garlic and continue to cook for another minute.
- Once the chicken has a little bit of color you can mix the chicken up with the vegetables. Turn off the heat, add a tablespoon or two of water to deglaze the skillet, stir around the veggies and chicken in the water to make sure all the yummy brown bites are scraped up and the bottom of the skillet looks clean.
- Transfer the contents of skillet into a bowl. Stir in the mild green chilies. Allow the mixture to cool. You don't need the mixture to be cold, it can be warm, but not warm enough where it will melt the cheese.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Stir in your cheese once the chicken mixture has cooled. Taste and add more salt/pepper, or whatever spice you think is lacking!
- On a microwavable safe plate, zap the tortillas (one at a time) for about 15 seconds. Turn the tortilla and zap for another few seconds. The purpose of this is to warm the tortilla to make it pliable. If you don't heat it enough it will rip/crack while you are assembling the chimichanga. So you don't need to make it piping hot, just warm enough where you can bend it easily.
- Once the tortillas are warm and pliable, spoon a portion of the chicken mixture into the center. Fold the tortilla over until the edge goes just past the chicken mixture. At this point I gently pushed down to flatten out the filling a little bit. This step is optional but I found it helpful when rolling up the chimichanga.
- Before you make the final folds, paint some egg white over the edges of the tortilla. This will help seal the chimichanga so there is less leakage.
- Now, fold in both ends towards the center, then carefully flip it onto the remaining tortilla to make it into a rectangular burrito shape!
- Now heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a clean skillet over medium heat.
- Carefully lift the chimichanga's into the pan (in batches) and brown them on both sides, this should only take a couple of minutes on each side. Remember, you are simply adding color, not trying to cook them!
- Now place the nicely browned chimichanga's on a cookie sheet lined with either a baking mat or tin foil and bake them for 12-15 minutes or until they are nice a puffy.
- When you pull them out of the oven they will be lava hot. Let them cool for about 10 minutes before you dig in!
- Serve with either guacamole or pico de gallo.
If you cook the chicken all the way through in the pan, they will dry up and overcook in the oven which leaves you with dry, tough chicken. Blah!
Make the chicken and veggies ahead of time so they have enough time to cool.
For extra fun, bake the chimichanga's in the oven per normal. But pull them out approx 5 minutes before they are done. Smoother them with your favorite pasta sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Return them to the oven for the last few minutes so the pasta and warm up and the cheese can melt.
Eat the goodness up!
Adapted from Chef John at foodwishes.com
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