Chipotle Chicken Burritos, Revisited

The chicken is the highlight of this burrito. It's poached on the stove, shredded, and tossed in a spicy chipotle pepper sauce. Better than any burrito we've bought in a long time. Our only difficulty was that our tortillas were much too small to contain all the goodness we stuffed into them. It was spilling out the ends (and slathering our cheeks) with each bite. When this occurs, don't hesitate to employ a fork. It'll taste good any way you eat it.

2/19/09: I came across a fellow food blogger who posted this recipe in tribute to her college days when she subsisted on Chipotle Grill's burritos. Well, our Chipotle college days are not over! We frequently pick up their foil wrapped burritos- for the convenience, price (they're BIG and filling), and because they are rare in that they use local, natural grass-fed beef, pork, and chicken! (Some of the Richmond and Charlottesville locations get their meat from VA's Polyface farm- famous from Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dillemma.) I have no problem paying for such a fresh high quality meal! But of course, I wanted to try and create my own delicious burritos at home. This chipotle chicken is not actually a copy of their recipe- it refers to the use of chipotle pepper in adobo. And I actually preferred this chicken over Chipotle's- it is much more tender, moist, and its got a kick! Yes, it's pretty spicy so feel free to use a smaller pepper. In keeping with the Chipotle tradition, we filled out tortillas with black beans, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, lettuce, and sour cream (but a new amped up version!). Rice is optional- if you do use it, make it brown!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 medium onion, quartered + 1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. canola oil
1/4 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 large chipotle in adobo, chopped + 1 Tbsp. adobo sauce
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with their juice
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. canned chopped green chiles, drained

For Serving:
whole wheat flour tortillas, warmed
Monteray Jack or Cheddar cheese, shredded (I've also used a blend of smoked Cheddar and smoked Gouda)
black beans
romaine lettuce, shredded
tomatoes, diced or Pico de Gallo
avocado, diced or Chunky Guacamole

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large saucepan, combine the chicken thighs, quartered onion, garlic and bay leaves. Add enough water to cover the chicken and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over moderately low heat until the chicken is fork tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken, let cool, and shred it into bite-size pieces. Transfer the chicken to a medium bowl.

2. Preheat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and brown sugar and cook until the onion is golden brown, 10 minutes. Add the chipotle, adobo sauce and tomatoes and simmer over moderately low heat until thickened, 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over the shredded chicken and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. In a blender or food processor, combine the sour cream and green chiles and pulse until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Sprinkle the warmed tortillas with the cheese. Spoon the chicken mixture down the center of the tortillas. Top with the black beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole and green-chile sour cream.

Serves 4.

(Adapted from The Kitchen Sink, originally adapted from Food & Wine)