My very first "Taquitos adventure"

Yesterday we had guests. Our friends, the ones we play rummy with almost every second night, decided to come over so we could watch TV together (two channels they currently don't have on their cable, but they like following political events and the situation in the country from the right angle as we do). And of course, while watching TV we ended up playing about 28 rounds, haha, true "addicts".

The day before, I was thinking about what I could prepare for them and for my fiancé (I'm fasting for Christmas), something fun to snack while we play and watch TV. I settled on taquitos. It was actually my first time making them; I'd never even tasted them before, but really, what could possibly be complicated or strange about that? Absolutely nothing. Basically, it's seasoned meat, some melty cheese, a tortilla and HOP! into the oven, a little dipping sauce on the side and that's pretty much it. 😍

Meat & Marinade:

550 g chicken breast, cut into long strips

Salt to taste

1 tsp of sweet paprika

1 tsp of ground black pepper

150 ml yogurt

I cut chicken breast into long strips (weighed about 550 grams). Salted it to taste, just by eye (I always do it that way) and mixed it well. Then I added 1 teaspoon of sweet crushed paprika, the same amount of ground black pepper, and 150 ml of yogurt and left everything covered for a bit.

Filling & Tortillas:

5 large tortillas, cut into quarters (triangles)

250g thinly sliced Edam cheese

Then I took 5 large tortillas, cut them into quarters and on each triangle first I placed a slice of cheese, then meat, rolled it up and secured it with a long toothpick. I kept going like that until I used up all the filling. I had two or three triangles left ove, and in total I think I used about 250 grams of cheese; it was thinly sliced Edamer.

On each large toothpick (I do not know how to say properly xD) I threaded as many taquitos as could fit (though honestly, I packed them way too tightly. Don't repeat my mistake, leave some space between them so they can get crispy and nicely baked all around). But it doesn't matter; the important thing is that everyone loved them and only a few pieces were left today to warm up for breakfast. 🥰

Here they are → 22 taquitos. Yes, that's how many I ended up with, considering I used larger tortillas and cut the meat into slightly bigger pieces than what would probably be ideal if you want them smaller and more numerous. I arranged all of them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and preheated the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Pre-baking Coating:

1 beaten egg

Pinch of salt

10 ml oil

20 ml yogurt

Since I was worried they might turn out too crispy and that the sharp tip of the tortilla could scratch the roof of the mouth once it bakes and dries out, I decided to brush them lightly before putting them in the oven. I whisked one egg, added a bit of salt, about 10 ml of oil and 20 ml of yogurt and used a silicone brush to coat each taquito. Meanwhile, the oven heated up quickly, so they went straight in to bake.

Red Sauce:

40 ml mayonnaise

180 g Greek yogurt

70 ml spicy ketchup

Salt to taste

Then I moved on to making the dipping sauces. For the first one, the red sauce, I used 40 ml of mayo, 180g of Greek yogurt and 70 ml of spicy ketchup. I added a little salt again, just by feel and that was it. Voila!

White Sauce:

220 g Greek yogurt

30 g fresh cucumber, finely grated and drained

1 small garlic clove, finely grated

Small amount of finely chopped parsley

Ground black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

For the second one, I used 220 grams of Greek yogurt, about 30 grams of finely grated and well-drained fresh cucumber, one small clove of finely grated garlic, a bit of finely chopped parsley, black pepper and salt. That one smelled even better, trust me. 🥰

I was honestly thrilled with how good they looked while they were baking, and there I was, peeking like a total voyeur through the very smudged oven glass. xD If it's not perfectly clean, it means something tasty is being cooked often in there and that's good, right? :D
I have to admit, since the cheese I bought is quite melty and I brushed everything with that egg mixture, the bottoms of the taquitos started to sizzle in that liquid more than I liked. So I pulled them out of the oven, flipped them onto a rack and put them back in to dry out a bit....and that did the trick!

Here's a photo of everything together. I didn't manage to take a more “photogenic” shot because the guests had already arrived and I wanted to join them as soon as possible and serve the taquitos while they were still hot.

Sure, it could have been better, but for a first attempt and considering I wasn't allowed to taste anything while preparing it, I think it turned out great. Spaniards and all other taquito lovers, please don't scold or judge me. Next time I'll make the real ones according to the original recipe and fry them in oil. I promise!