Oven baked chimichangas

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The first time I tried a chimichanga, was at TGI Fridays. A restaurant chain that is not available here in Portugal, so I decided to make my own. It's not the same obviously, and I play around with the spices each time I make it (so feel free to change the ingredients for the filling as you see fit), but the whole family and our guests love it.

Change the quantity as you see fit. This is for a family of 4, with 2 chimichangas per person, and to last us for 2-3 days.

Ingredients

  • 15 tortillas
  • 3-4 tbs melted unsalted butter
  • 1kg chicken mince
  • 4 chopped tomatoes or 400g canned diced tomatoes
  • 400g tomato pulp / juice
  • 150ml water
  • 600g shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 3-4 tbs paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Half tsp cayenne or chili pepper
  • 125g cooked kidney beans (optional)
  • 125g (a cup) bell peppers of all available colors, cut in strips
  • 1 tbs olive oil

Instructions

The filling

  1. Cooked the chicken mince in a large pan in olive oil.
  2. When it's done, add the tomatoes and bell peppers and mix well.
  3. Add 200g of tomato pulp, the kidney beans and water. Add the spices.
  4. Cook for 2-3 minutes more.

 The rolls

  1.  Brush a deep baking tray with half of the melted butter.
  2. Add 2-3 tbs of the chicken filling in each tortilla. Add 1-2 tbs of shredded mozzarella as well.
  3. Roll the tortillas and add them to the baking tray, with the edges/open side down, and tightly next to each other.
  4. Brush the top of the chimichangas with the rest of the melted butter, some tomato sauce and sprinkle with mozzarrella cheese.
  5. In a pre-heated oven at 215 degrees Celsius, cook for 15-20 minutes.

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