Chicken flautas

Here's another fine option for Cinco de Mayo (or any other day of the year).  These chicken and cheddar flautas from Food & Wine are pan fried - and out of this world.  The beauty of this recipe is that there are countless combinations and ingredients you can sub to create your own version- steak, ground turkey, vegetarian- you name it, I bet it will be delicious!

CHICKEN FLAUTAS

Yield: 12 flautas

Ingredients

2 jalapeños

2 cups finely shredded cooked chicken

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

12 corn or flour tortillas

Vegetable oil, for frying

Sour cream, for serving

Other filling ideas are cliantro, lime juice and red onion

Instructions

1. Skewer the jalapeños on a metal skewer or fork and roast over a flame until blackened, 3 minutes. Wrap in foil and let cool slightly. Rub off the skins and remove the seeds, then finely chop.

2. Transfer the jalapeños to a bowl and add the chicken, cheese and cumin. Season with salt and pepper; toss well.

3. Wrap half of the tortillas in a towel and microwave at high power for 1 minute, until pliable. Arrange the tortillas on a surface and pack half of the chicken filling into cylinders across the bottoms. Tightly roll the tortillas around the filling, securing with toothpicks. Repeat to form the remaining flautas.

4. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Fry half of the flautas over moderate heat, turning, until golden and crisp all over and heated through, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Fry the remaining flautas.  Remove toothpicks and serve the flautas with sour cream.