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Soft Chicken Tacos with Smoked Paprika Sour Cream
Highly seasoned ground chicken makes a tasty filling for corn tortillas—or feel free to substitute wholegrain wheat tortillas, which can be easier to find. Seasoned sour cream is the base for an irresistible sauce, giving the taco filling just the moisture it needs.
Round out the meal with a salad of diced avocado tossed with slivered red onion and endive and a lemon juice-olive oil dressing. For a heartier repast, serve spicy black beans alongside.
Allow 2 to 3 tacos per person.
Makes 8 soft tacos
For the smoked paprika sour cream
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
For the tacos
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely diced onion
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 pound ground chicken (or substitute ground turkey or pork)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (if large)
8 six-inch corn tortillas
For the smoked paprika sour cream: combe the sour cream, paprika, lime juice, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
Prepare the taco filling: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Towards the end of browning, stir in the chili, oregano, cumin, and garlic.
If the ground chicken has formed into a fairly solid block, chop it into small cubes. Add the chicken, broth, and half of the tomatoes to the skillet, breaking up the chicken further with a wooden spoon.
Cover and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through, 2 or 3 minutes. Break up any clumps into small nuggets. Stir in the remaining cherry tomatoes and season with salt to taste.
To assemble the tacos: Heat the tortillas one-by-one in a skillet over medium heat, about a minute per side. Alternatively wrap all of the tortillas in a kitchen towel and heat them in the microwave for 1 minute. Set a generous 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture on one half of each tortilla. Distribute about 2 tablespoons of the smoked paprika sour cream on top. Fold over and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Alternatively, serve the filling and sour cream in separate bowls and let each person assemble the tacos at the table.
Adapted from Whole Grains for Busy People by Lorna Sass. Copyright © 2009. Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.
Lorna Sass is the author of WHOLE GRAINS EVERY DAY, EVERY WAY, which won a 2007 James Beard Foundation Award in the "healthy focus" category. Her website is www.lornasass.com. Sass is also the author of Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the businesses in question before making your plans.