Flautas de Pollo (Crispy Rolled Chicken Tacos)

Sauté the onion and garlic in a spoon of oil until soft, add the shredded chicken, stock and salt, and cook 3–4 minutes until the liquid is absorbed but the mix is still moist. Cool slightly.

Warm the tortillas in a dry pan just until soft and bendy, a few seconds a side. Keep them stacked under a cloth so they stay warm and don't crack.

💡 Cold tortillas crack and unroll in the oil. The warming step is not optional — it is the difference between a tight flute and a fillingful mess in the pan.

Lay a line of chicken along one edge of a tortilla and roll it up tight into a thin tube. Secure with a toothpick through the seam. Repeat with the rest.

Heat the oil to 180°C. Fry the flautas seam-side down first, a few at a time, turning, for 2–3 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Drain on paper and pull the toothpicks out.

💡 Frying seam-down for the first 30 seconds glues the roll shut before you turn it, so it can't unravel. Don't crowd the pan or the oil cools and the flautas go greasy instead of crisp.

Lay the flautas on a platter and bury them under shredded lettuce, a generous drizzle of crema, crumbled cheese and salsa verde. Serve at once, while the shells are still crackly.