Tacquito Night with Spanish Rice

Photo by Stephanie Ghiya

At the dinner table, as pertaining to the ritual of dinner, I have tried--for the sake of my future daughter-in-laws--to instill some rule of law.  Forks, knives, napkins.  Namely: MANNERS.  But in order to pull off these fledgling lessons in etiquette, I have to time things just right.  Before I call the dudes in for dinner, the meal, drinks and table have to be ready to go, because, as many of us witnessed in 10th grade English, boys left unto themselves can descend into a Lord of the Flies situation faster than you can text SOS to your husband!

Which brings us to tonight's post.  Tacquito Night is not only tasty, gluten-free and a good use of leftover roast chicken but it means FINGER FOODS!  And as long as my dudes wait for The Good Food Fairy to sit down to the table and a word of grace (as well as keep their feet off the table and out of their food), I don't have to sweat it.

 Take out that left over roast chicken before it joins the ranks of the Lords of the Flies and ...

 Shred it.  Ahhh.  Much nicer.  Set it aside.  Now we'll start the Spanish Rice.

Pour about a tablespoon of Canola oil (or any oil with a high burning point, so not olive) into a large skillet.  Preheat the oil until it shows a shimmer when you tip it in the pan.

Measure out 4 cups of non-msg chicken broth,

Pour the stock into a saucepan and crank on the burner to High.

Now here is your tomato sauce and El Pato or spicy tomato sauce.  Here is where you control the spice for your household.  I use about 1/2 can of each.  You can opt for more spicy (2/3 or even 3/4!! can of El Pato to 1/3 or 1/4!! can of tomato sauce) or less spicy (2/3 can of tom. sauce to 1/3 can of El Pato).  Everything's simpatico as long as the portions from both cans equals one can.  Add the tomato sauce and El Pato to the sauce pan with chicken broth and bring to a simmer.

Add two cups of rice to the oil. 

Stir to coat the rice with the oil. 

Brown the rice.  Some rice grains will be white, some golden and some brown.  Stir and watch.  Stir and watch.

When the Chicken Broth has come to a simmer or in this case a boil,

add the liquid to the rice.  Beware of the steam backlash.  Be careful if your pan is hot like this to only pour a little bit of the chicken stock liquid at a time so you don't get a steam burn.

Put the lid on and lower the heat to LOW.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Now back to tacquitos...

Add Canola oil to a small skillet, about 1/3 inch deep.  Turn on the burner to Medium heat and preheat  oil.

You will need corn tortillas.  I just love reading such a pure, simple, preservative-free list of ingredients.

Here's the front view...

We need to soften the tortillas and make them roll-able by...

by sliding them into the warm oil, one-by-one.

Let them bathe in the oil between 5 and 10 seconds--just until the tortilla is limp and pliable. 

Remove the tortillas to a platter lined with paper towels.  These will need to cool a bit before you can handle them so turn off the heat under your oil.

To the shredded chicken, add a teaspoon of cumin and ...

a teaspoon of salt. Toss it all up.

Get ready to roll!

Put a large pinch of shredded chicken on one end of the tortilla.

Roll it...

Roll it up, then

Set it aside on your platter or a plate until you've made two per adult and big kids and one per little kid.  Preheat your skillet of oil for three to five minutes over medium heat.

Arrange the tacquitos in your skillet snugly.

Check the rice.  It should be fluffy and beautiful.  Turn off the heat and put the lid back on for a few minutes to rehydrate the rice that got stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Turn the tacquitos a quarter turn after five to seven minutes.  Check and make sure the side coming out of the oil is golden and at the level of crunchiness your heart desires.

Remove the tacquitos to your platter lined with fresh paper towels.  

Give the rice a stir and serve it all up with whatever you fancy (or happened to have in the cupboards): guacamole, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, black beans, refried beans, diced tomatoes, etc.  Enjoy a wistful, manners-policing-free Tacquito Night!

RECIPE: HOMEMADE TACQUITOS
*Gluten Free option

 Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

• 2 - 3 c. shredded chicken
• 1      t.  cumin         
• 1      t.  salt
• 8 - 12   corn tortillas
•             canola oil

METHOD

1. Shred your left over roast chicken and reserve in a bowl.   Add a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of salt to the shredded chicken and toss until combined.
2. In a 10 inch skillet, preheat a 1/3 inch of canola oil for five minutes over medium heat.
3. Soften corn tortillas by gently sliding them into the preheated oil, one-by-one, for 5-10 seconds or until very pliable.  Then lay the tortillas aside on a large, paper towel lined plate and let cool.  Turn off the heat under the oil.
4. When tortillas are cool enough to handle, preheat the same skillet of oil for three to five minutes over medium heat.  Put a large pinch of chicken on one end of a tortilla and roll into a tacquito.  Set tacquito carefully in the oil against one side of the skillet.  Repeat with the other tortillas, lining the tacquitos up snugly against each other so they do not unroll. 
5. After 5 to 7 minutes, give the tacquito a quarter turn cooking all sides until they are crunchy and golden.
6. Remove to a platter lined with fresh paper towels.

 RECIPE: SPANISH RICE
*Gluten Free Option
 Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

• 2 c. long grain white rice
• 4 c. no-msg chicken broth 
• 1/2 can tomato sauce
• 1/2 can El Pato sauce
• 1 T. Canola oil

 METHOD

1. Heat canola oil in a large skillet until shimmery.  Add rice.
2. Stir rice to coat with oil and let rice brown, stirring occasionally.
3. While rice is browning, bring chicken broth, tomato sauce and El Pato to a low simmer.
4. Add chicken broth liquid to browned rice and make sure the liquid is at a simmer.  Cover the skillet with lid and turn heat down to low for twenty minutes.
5. After twenty minutes, check rice.  It should be soft, puffed and fluffy.  Turn off the heat and cover with lid for five minutes to rehydrate rice stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Serving ideas: 1) guacamole, black beans or refried beans, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, pico de gallo.