These chicken tacos are delicious even if you don’t have leftover chicken. I make them from scratch at home by roasting some chicken legs or thighs at 200°C fan (425°F), with the onions and spices, for 35 minutes, then stripping the meat and tossing with the roasting juices.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon chipotle paste
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil,
- plus extra as needed
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 350 g (12 oz) leftover cooked chicken (pages 88–89)
- 100 ml (3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup) water
- sea salt
To serve
- 1 onion
- ¼ white cabbage, very thinly
- shredded
- juice of 2 limes, plus 2 limes to serve
- 8 medium or 12 small tortillas
- A few tablespoons of pickled jalapeños or 2 fresh, thinly sliced
Method:
- Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan (skillet) until fragrant, then pour into a pestle and mortar and coarsely grind. Add the chipotle paste and a glug of vegetable oil and mix.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole dish (Dutch oven) over a medium heat. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and gently fry for 20 minutes, adding more oil if you need to until the onions are really soft and slightly caramelised. Put some time into cooking the onions as this is such an essential part of the dish. The more love you give the onions, the better it will taste.
- Stir in the garlic and fry for a further 2–3 minutes. Add the chicken and chipotle mixture and continue to fry for a minute before adding the water. Allow to bubble and thicken up for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.
- Peel the onion and then use a vegetable peeler to peel the flesh from the root end, creating very thin layers of onion (yes, I saw this on Instagram like the rest of us and love it – no need for a scary mandoline!). Place the onions in a bowl with the cabbage, add the lime juice and a pinch of salt, then scrunch everything together with your hands.
- Warm the tortillas in a hot, dry pan or directly over a gas flame for a few seconds on each side, then stack on a plate. Serve the chicken and cabbage salad with the tortillas and jalapeños, allowing everyone to help themselves.
Chicken Crackling
If you have leftover chicken skin, I urge you to make some crispy skin to top the tacos with. Lay the skin as flat as you can in a large frying pan, then drizzle in 1 tablespoon oil. Place a layer of baking parchment on top, followed by something heavy to weigh it down, such as a big saucepan. Fry over a medium-low heat for 4–5 minutes, then lift the weight and turn the skin over and fry for a further 2–3 minutes until completely crisp. Crunch up the skin and sprinkle over the tacos. See the grid image for inspiration!
