#9 Crispy Chicken Tacos & Guacamole

"Holy guacamole" was the catchphrase of the family driving to a friends 50th Mexican theme birthday party. The guacamole in the boot had been tipped on its side during the turning process of a rather hard corner. I had to scrabble at the back to reset it and daughter driving had the challenge of ensuring every corner was taken so that the guacamole was upright. Right beside it was the more balanced crispy chicken tacos.

Of course, the recipes for both of these came from"The Great NZ Cookbook". Jose Carlos de la Macorra - Mexican Specialities from Ellerslie, Auckland, shares a great philosophy of life...

 "Food is just the side dish, the main course is sharing the celebration of something "Geater", this gives meaning and soul to all of our food. And why not take someone to the park, hold hands, walk around the cathedral, kiss kiss and along the way enjoy a couple of sopes and tacos". 

Well, I didn't indulge in the sopes because I couldn't bear having to purchase a tortilla press which was required for the recipe. Although I did complete two out of three of recipes that Jose provided.
The guacamole included tomatoes, avocados, lemon juice and chill. But the addition of the fresh coriander and the topping of pomegranate seeds were novel additions to me.

The crispy chicken tacos involved boiling a chicken breast in a pan with garlic, onion, oregano and salt. Then shredded when cooked. Once the chicken is cooled the challenge was is to roll up in a tortilla and then pan fry in hot corn oil. Lucky for me there was some family support! Firstly i now know that if the tortillas are sticking together when you are trying to separate them and they ripping when you are attempting to part them, put them in the microwave for a few seconds.
Secondly, after your first frustrating attempt of pan frying a rolled tortilla that desperately seems to want to imitate a pancake, let your family take over so that you can go and get ready. Cooking string was the innovative answer to keep the tortilla rolled and tight.

It was a great 50th birthday celebration, there were monobrows, margarita's and all things Mexican. The guacamole received lots of compliments and the tacos were gone in a flash. Taking Jose philosophy...  the food certainly was the side dish and although there wasn't a cathedral to walk around there was a magical bonfire on the beach.


Pomegranate



Side dish of guacamole


Crispy chicken tacos


Fiesty, fiery Mexican treats around the bonfire






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