Derek likes to joke that he is the ‘Le Gourmet Chef’ in our household and I’m just his sous chef. However, its times like these when he comes up with an idea like this that I start to wonder if he has a point. But at least he still needs me to execute the ideas – and this one – it’s AMAZING! Derek randomly came up with the idea for the tequila-lime marinated chicken and wanted a salsa and hash to go with. I decided to make a roasted tomatillo salsa and we served it over my cilantro lime rice. It was awesome!
I couldn’t stop talking about how amazing this tasted as I ate it. The chicken was moist, flavorful and tender. The salsa had just the right amount of heat. And the crazy thing – I ate black beans and liked them! I don’t really like beans or rather I don’t generally like the texture but I WANT to like them. So I consider this a pretty important baby step.
The chicken needs to marinate for a few hours so this is a good meal to make on a weekend or when you have a little time on your hands. The salsa also tastes better if it can chill in the fridge for the flavors to meld together. But if you wanted to get it all together before work you could have a quick weeknight meal on your hands.
Here’s what you need:
Start by getting the chicken marinade together.
Mix together the zest of 1 lime, juice of 2 limes, some tequila, Worcestershire, agave nectar, a little salt, cayenne and garlic powder.
Pound the chicken until it’s an even thickness.
Combine the chicken and the marinade in a Ziploc bag. Allow the marinade to do its magic in the fridge for about 3-4 hours.
Now go ahead and make the salsa. Here’s what you need:
Peel the tomatillos and cut them in half. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet along with a half a jalapeno and 3 garlic cloves.
Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes until they look like this:
Place everything into a blender, including the juices that accumulated on the parchment and blend until smooth.
Now we’re going to mix in some other ingredients. Start with some finely chopped red onion and a pinch of kosher salt.
Then add the juice of 1 lime and some chopped cilantro.
Mix everything together and adjust seasoning to taste. Allow to chill in the fridge for at least an hour or until you’re ready to serve.
When you’re ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the marinade and pat dry. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken. Cook until it reaches 165 degrees about 5-7 minutes per side – this really depends on how thin you pounded it. Once the chicken cools, slice each breast into strips.
Meanwhile make the corn & black bean hash. Heat a little oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add about a cup of corn and sauté until it begins to brown (if it’s in season, go ahead and use fresh corn). Drain and rinse the beans and when the corn is ready add the beans and heat through. Season with the juice of half a lime and a pinch of salt.
Serve with cilantro lime rice.
To serve, lay down a base of cilantro lime rice. Lay the sliced chicken over the rice and top with a generous serving of the tomatillo salsa. Serve with corn and black bean hash on the side. Make sure to get a little bit of everything in at least one bite – the flavors go together so well!
Enjoy! I wish we had made enough for leftovers so I could have taken it to work for lunch. Next time I’ll remember and make extra.
- Chicken:
- Zest of 1 lime
- Juice of 2 limes
- ¼ c tequila
- 1 t worchestershire
- 1 T agave nectar
- ¼ t kosher salt
- ¼ t cayenne powder
- ½ t garlic powder
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
- Roasted Tomatillo Salsa:
- 10 tomatillos
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ jalapeno
- ⅓ c red onion, finely diced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 t cilantro, chopped
- salt
- Corn & Black Bean Hash:
- 1 c frozen corn, thawed (or about 1 ear fresh taken off the cob)
- ¼ cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- Juice of ½ a lime
- Pinch of salt
- Mix together the lime zest, lime juice, tequila, worcestershire, agave, salt, cayenne and garlic powder. Add to a Ziploc bag along with the chicken. Allow to marinade for 3-4 hours in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the tomatillos and slice in half. Place the tomatillos on the baking sheet, cut side down along with half of the jalapeno and 3 cloves of garlic. Bake for about 25 minutes until the tomatillos begin to shrivel and get little brown spots on top.
- Blend all the roasted ingredients until smooth. In a small bowl combine with red onion, juice of one lime, pinch of salt and the chopped cilantro. Allow to chill in the fridge for about an hour.
- Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a 10 inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for about 5-7 minutes per side until it reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before slicing.
- While the chicken is cooking make the hash. Heat about 2 teaspoons of oil in a 10 inch skillet of medium-high heat. Add the corn and saute for about 5 minutes until it begins to brown. Add the black beans and heat through. Finish with a pinch of salt and the lime juice.
- To serve lay the chicken over some cilantro lime rice. Top with salsa and some of the hash along the side.
- Enjoy!
[…] made this as a base for several other recipes including this awesome Tequila Lime Chicken with Tomatillo Salsa and a Corn, Black Bean Hash. As with any good copy-cat recipe, I don’t like to get too hung up on making it taste EXACTLY […]