Food mash-ups: Chicken Cordon Bleu Chimichanga

Tonight I’m combining a Chimichanga with Chicken Cordon Bleu, it’s an interesting experiment and I hope you enjoy it!

———————————–

Chicken Cordon Bleu Chimichangas

———————————–

 

Tonight we have Chicken Cordon bleu from… somewhere  and Chimichangas from… well the origin of both of these foods depends on the story you wish to believe, more on that in a bit.

 

—————————–

Histories

——————————

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu:

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu at first glance seems likely to be from France, however it most likely is an American invention, or it was corrupted from various European dishes.

There are two dishes that are very similar to Chicken Cordon Bleu: Chicken Kiev (from the Ukraine) and Veal Cordon Bleu (from Switzerland).

 

Chimichanga:

 

The humble Chimichanga has several origin stories, each one seeming at least semi possible.

Several restauranteurs in the Tucson Arizona area lay claim to the invention of the Chimichanga, mostly in the 1940s, with stories varying from wanting to keep burritos longer, to accidents and swearing.

Another legend says that the chimichanga comes from Sonora, Mexico and have been eaten since the early 1900s.

An interesting and strange origin idea springs from that legend and goes further to claim that the chimichanga was a Chinese invention translated into Mexican food.

 

More on these rumors can be found on the following sites:

http://www.ocweekly.com/restaurants/was-the-chimichanga-invented-by-chinese-in-mexico-6624206

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimichanga

 

———————————

What they are:

———————————-

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu is a dish consisting of a flattened, boneless, skinless chicken breast wrapped around a slice of ham, which is wrapped around a slice of cheese. The cheese varies from recipe to recipe, but it is normally Swiss, mozzarella or a similar cheese.

 

Chimichangas are at the most basic a deep-fried burrito.

They often consisting of shredded meat instead of ground and seldom if ever have refried beans inside them. Sometimes shredded cheese may be added inside if they are going to be eaten unsmothered.

Chimichangas are often smothered in green chili, cheese and sour cream.

 

— —————————- —

Now that we have learned a bit about the histories behind our two foods, along with the basics of them, let’s get done to the cooking of our new dish!

 

What you need:

Flour tortillas

Ham (thin slices or diced)

Cooked chicken (Thinly sliced or diced, leftover chicken works well)

Cheese (Cheddar, Swiss or mozzarella. Or all three if you want.)

 

These are very simple to make, just take a tortilla and add roughly equal parts of chicken and ham, add a bit of cheese, taking care to evenly distribute everything and keep it in a neat row all while leaving roughly two inches at each end.

To fold up the tortilla start with one end, then the other followed by the sides. Use cooking toothpicks to hold them together, normally one at each end will suffice.

Now all that’s left to do is to fry them until they are crisp. You can either deep fry them or use a skillet if you prefer.

 

Finishing touches:

 

There are a few more things that you can do to top off your Cordon Bleu Chimichangas:

• Serve covered in Hollandaise sauce with a chili pepper sliced on top.
• Serve covered in green chili with a dollop of sour cream.
• Serve with a bowl of guacamole sauce on the side for dipping.
• If smothering with sauce, add more cheese.
• Eat it as is.

—– ————————————-

There you have it, Chicken Cordon Bleu Chimichangas. I hope you enjoyed this recipe. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!