Chicken chimichangas recipe

These chicken chimichangas are filled with chicken, sweetcorn, tomato salsa and spring onions. This tasty chicken chimichanga wrap is easy to make: fill the tortilla, fold it together and fry it quickly on a hot pan so it holds together more easily - clever!

What is a chimichanga?

Chimichanga is traditionally known as a deep-fried burrito, but frying it on a pan requires a lot less oil! This chimichangas recipe gives you the option to use whichever Mexican spice mix that you want. So if you're a fan of spicy flavours you could go for something hotter but if you like it sweet try out a smoky spice mix for a mix of sweet, smoky flavours and a kick of spice.

Choose a ripe avocado to get the true Mexican guacamole flavour from the avocado. And you want it to be creamy rather than hard and crumbled. Serve the chimichangas together with mashed avocado, coriander and the cheese.

Ingredients

• 2tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
• bunch spring onions, sliced
• 197g tin sweetcorn, drained
• 35g Mexican spice mix
• 2tbsp tomato purée
• 300g tomato salsa
• 200g cooked chicken, shredded
• 4 large plain flour tortillas
• 1 ripe avocado
• juice 1 lime
• Small handful coriander leaves
• 50g Lancashire cheese, crumbled

Method

1. Heat half the sunflower oil in a large pan and cook the pepper and spring onion for 3 mins. Add the sweetcorn and Mexican spice mix and cook for a further 3 mins.
2. Next, stir through the tomato purée, salsa and chicken, and warm through.
3. Divide the chicken mixture between 4 tortillas and fold into a rectangular parcel, securing with cocktail sticks.
4. Mash the avocado with lime juice and season, then set aside.
5. In a separate large frying pan, heat the remaining oil until hot. Fry the parcels for 1 min on each side, until they are golden brown and crisp.
6. Carefully remove the parcels from the pan and leave them on kitchen towel to soak up any excess oil. Remove the cocktail sticks, slice each parcel in half. Serve the chicken chimichangas with the avocado, coriander and cheese.

If you want to make a vegetarian version of these simple chimichangas, then all you have to do is replace the chicken in this recipe and make sure the Mexican spice mix is vegetarian approved. Swap for refried beans, black beans or you could opt for Quorn chicken, similar to tofu.

The best sauce to serve with or pack into your chimichanga is the traditional Mexican salsa. The fresh tomato flavour works wonders with the tender chicken and spices. Drizzle with sour cream and serve with guacamole for a delicious finish.