Mexican Blackened Chicken with Chopped Salad
Chicken is flavored with lime and an aromatic blackened spice crust. A chopped Mexican salad featuring spiced pepitas and a honey chipotle dressing makes for a zesty side that this flamboyant main deserves.
Servings
Produce
Red Onion (Organic)
1/2 0.25 Whole
Roma Tomato
8 4 oz
Shishito Pepper
3 1.5 oz
Avocado
1 0.5 Whole
Arugula (Organic)
4 2 oz
Lime
1 0.5 Whole
Cilantro (Organic)
1 0.5 oz
Protein & more
Pumpkin seeds
1/3 0.165 cup
Artichoke hearts
4 2 oz
Manchego Cheese
2 1 oz
Chicken thighs
1 0.5 lb
Pantry items
Olive oil
2 1 tablespoon
Sea salt
1 0.5 teaspoon
Spice mix
Mild Ancho Chile
1 0.5 tablespoon
Granulated Onion
1.5 0.75 tablespoon
Granulated Garlic
1.5 0.75 tablespoon
Mexican Oregano
1 0.5 tablespoon
Honey Chipotle Dressing
Olive oil
1/3 0.165 cup
Lime juice
2 1 tablespoon
Chipotle pepper
1 0.5 teaspoon
Honey
1 0.5 tablespoon
Cumin powder
1 0.5 teaspoon
Spiced Pepitas Marinade
Olive oil
2 1 teaspoon
Honey
1.5 0.75 teaspoon
Cumin powder
1 0.5 teaspoon
Cayenne powder
1 0.5 Pinch
Prep ahead (optional)
a. ¼" dice red onion and roma tomatoes. b. Pit avocado, ¼" dice. c. Chop arugula bite-sized or leave whole. d. Trim the shishito peppers, leave whole. e. Divide lime. Juice half, slice remaining into wedges. f. Rough chop cilantro.
Instructions
1
Roast the pepitas and shishito peppers:
a. Preheat the oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with paper.
b. Add the pumpkin seeds to a mixing bowl and pour the spiced pepitas marinade. Toss to coat evenly. Add the pepitas to one side of the baking tray.
c. In another mixing bowl, add the shishito peppers (trim, leave whole) with ½ tbsp olive oil and salt to taste. Toss to coat. Add the shishito peppers to the other side of the baking tray.
d. Roast for 5 minutes. Remove tray from oven and remove the pumpkin seeds into a bowl and set aside to cool. Put the tray back in the oven and continue cooking the shishitos for 5 more minutes, or until they are blistered. Remove shishitos into a bowl and set aside to cool.
2
Menwhile prep chicken:
a. Portion chicken thighs and add to a bowl.
b. Season one side of the chicken with half the lime (juice) and ½ tsp salt. Rub to coat evenly.
c. Sprinkle the Mexican spice rub over the coated side of the chicken and press down gently with your hands so that it adheres.
3
Assemble the salad:
a. In a large bowl, mix together the red onion (¼" dice), roma tomatoes (¼" dice), avocado (pit, ¼" dice), arugula (chop bite-sized or leave whole), artichoke hearts (¼" dice), half the cilantro (rough chop), roasted shishito peppers (thinly slice) and the spiced pepitas. Keep aside for adding the dressing just before serving.
4
Cook the chicken:
a. Place a skillet on high heat. Once it is very hot, add 1 tbsp olive oil and then the chicken, spice side down. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the spice rub has formed a blackish crust on the chicken. Carefully flip over using a spatula. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking for 5-7 minutes more, or until the chicken is cooked. Flip once more for the last 30 seconds.
5
Serve:
a. Drizzle the honey chipotle dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Garnish with grated manchego cheese.
b. Divide chicken amongst plates. Garnish with remaining cilantro (rough chop) and remaining lime (slice into wedges). Serve salad alongside. Enjoy!
Chef's notes
When you're ready to cook the chicken, make sure the pan is hot enough. If you don't hear a sizzling sound when it hits the oil, wait! The pan must be super hot for the blackened crust to form.
This recipe has been adapted from Cooking on the Weekends
All spice mixes and dressings made by Inner Chef from scratch with organic ingredients, local when possible.
This week’s local ingredients across all Inner Chef meal-kits come from:
Gundermann Acres,
Wharton County, TX
Wharton County, TX
Fagan Family Farm
Lone Star Herbs,
League City, TX
League City, TX
G&S Groves,
Mission, TX
Mission, TX
The Farm Patch,
Pleasanton, TX
Pleasanton, TX
Kitchen Pride,
Gonzales, TX
Gonzales, TX
Fruitful Hill Farm,
Bastrop, TX
Bastrop, TX
J&B Farms,
Hondo, TX
Hondo, TX
Martinez Farms,
Pleasanton, TX
Pleasanton, TX
Village Farms,
Marfa, TX
Marfa, TX
Animal Farm,
Cat Spring, TX
Cat Spring, TX
Bouldin Food Forest,
Rogers, TX
Rogers, TX
Buena Tierra Farms,
Fredonia, TX
Fredonia, TX
Dilorio Farms,
Hempstead, TX
Hempstead, TX
Engel Farms,
Fredericksburg, TX
Fredericksburg, TX
Good Flow Honey,
Austin, TX
Austin, TX
Hairston Creek Farms,
Burnet, TX
Burnet, TX
Hifi Mycology,
Austin, TX
Austin, TX
Homestead Gristmill,
Waco, TX
Waco, TX
K. H. Farms,
Poteet, TX
Poteet, TX
Pedernales Valley Farms,
Federicksburg, TX
Federicksburg, TX
Lightsey Farms,
Mexia, TX
Mexia, TX
Texas Olive Ranch,
Carrizo Springs, TX
Carrizo Springs, TX
Thomas Kindle,
Grand Saline, TX
Grand Saline, TX
Top of Texas,
Farwell, TX
Farwell, TX
US Citrus,
Hargill, TX
Hargill, TX
Bella Verdi,
Dripping Springs, TX
Dripping Springs, TX
Country Boy Farms,
Kennard, TX
Kennard, TX
Francis and Thatcher,
Manor, TX
Manor, TX
James Farm,
Prairie Ronde, LA
Prairie Ronde, LA