I used some La Morena homemade-style chipotle in adobo sauce that I found in the international section of New World City Centre. It comes in a bright orange tin. I think it costs, like, $3.50 but it should last you about two meals (freeze the left overs in a snap lock bag).
I always make my tortillas from scratch. Now, you could buy those in the packets but they can be really expensive, especially if you are feeding four, five or six people – and even more so if they all happen to possess a Y-chromosome. Over the summer, when I had an abundance of time, I practiced making tortillas myself by hand. All you need is flour, oil and water and they turn out really well. Plus, there is nothing like the taste of a fresh one, straight from the pan. You can buy tortilla presses but I just use an old wine bottle or a rolling pin to roll them out. Sure they will be far from circular, but I think that looks cool.
Bulk it all out with fresh tomato salsa, lettuce and a tonne of coriander and you are good to go!
Ingredients (SERVES 4)
For the chipotle marinade:500g chicken breast or tenderloin
3 tablespoons La Morena homemade-style chipotle sauce (available from the Mexican section of NW City Centre)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup cold water
For the flour tortillas:
1 ½ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup + a splash vegetable oil
½ cup boiling water
For the pico de gallo salsa:
2 large tomatoes, diced
½ red onion, diced finely
1 handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
A good grinding of pepper
Juice of one lemon or a couple of limes
A splash of olive oil
Other fillings:
Butter or iceberg lettuce, shredded
Sliced avocado
Sour cream
Hot sauce or the left over chipotle sauce
Method
1. Slice the breast or tenderloins into chunky strips. Mix with the other marinade ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Leave to marinate for an hour or overnight.2. Pan-fry the chicken pieces in batches on a medium heat. Cook the chicken at the same time as you make the tortillas; that way everything will be ready at the same time – but in a different pan, of course.
3. To make the tortillas, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. You may need a bit more water and oil to bring it together into a nice, smooth ball. Knead for a few minutes then pop it back in the bowl and cover with glad wrap for 20 minutes to rest it.
4. Heat up a clean, dry frying pan to the highest temp you can get it. Take Ping-Pong ball-sized blobs of dough and roll out until they are thin enough until you can just see the bench colour beneath them. Place them on the hot pan, one at a time, until each side starts getting those attractive brown spots on it. Leave under a clean tea towel while you cook the rest. This should make around 12 tortillas.
5. To make the salsa, combine all the ingredients and toss to mix in the salt and lemon juice. Serve in a bowl with a coriander sprinkling.
6. To construct your taco, place a small amount of the chicken in the centre of your tortilla. Plop a dollop of sour cream on top of the chicken. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the salsa and some shredded lettuce. Sprinkle over some of the left over La Morena chipotle sauce or some hot sauce if you wish. Fold in half, try not to make a mess (my bad!) and enjoy!