Let's be clear: just ilke Carmen Miranda, there's little "authentic" about this dish—yes, I know she was Brazilian!. It's a delicious salad and side dishes musing on Tex-Mex-meets-Mexican somewhere in a blind alley connecting WeHo in L.A. with London's East End (like I'd know what that looked like). However, it's fool-proof, relatively healthy and impresses all too easily.
Chica, chica, boom, chic...
There are elements of this dish that are pure Tex-Mex that we're likely to revisit later. But, quite a lot of it is pure fabrication, such as the mango, for example—unless you count the fact that the majority of mangoes available in the USA are now grown in Mexico. Either way, it's tasty and you should simply chow down.
Yeah, you've all heard this before: these quantities are for two adults. Do your sums if you want to change it.
Shopping list
Tex-Mex chicken salad with quesadillas
1 chicken breast per diner; skinless or not, your choice
Approx. 12 medium mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut vertically into thirds
A really big bunch of crisp salad leaves to taste (approx. 170g, whether all iceberg lettuce or any preferred combination. Yup, welcome to (con)fusion cuisine. )
A clutch of fresh coriander
A clutch of fresh rocket
2 ripe tomatoes; cubed
2 or 3 jalapeno peppers, sliced (or the pickled equivalent)
1 ripe avocado
½ medium ripe mango, cubed
A clutch of spring onions, sliced
The juice of half a lime or lemon
for the dressing
Approx 4 tbspns balsamic vinegar
Approx 8 tbspns soured cream
2 cloves of raw garlic, very finely grated or crushed
for the chicken seasoning
1 tspn each of:
dried red chilli or chipotle
rock salt
cumin
black peppercorns
oregano
dried garlic powder
pimentón (ideally of the sweet variety)
Alternatively, use one of the good quality fajita spice mixes available
for the quesadillas
2 corn and wheat tortillas
4 tbspns salsa roja, ideally spicy (Yes, you can make it yourself or you can just buy it from a reputable producer)
1 medium white or brown onion, roughly sliced
Approx. 4 to 5 tbspns grated Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese
for the hell of it
1 corn on the cob per diner
A generous dab of olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Cooking Method
Prepare the chicken seasoning first. Have a clean spice jar to hand: what you don't use today you'll use later with this fairly standard fajita seasoning. Add all of the spices and seasoning ingredients to a large mortar, crushing with a pestle until a fine powder
Sprinkle a generous amount of the seasoning mix onto the chicken breasts and massage into the flesh/skin; first one side then the other. Place in an airtight container and allow to rest in the fridge for at least an hour
Place the chicken breasts into a ceramic baking dish into which they fit snugly. First baste one side with a little olive oil using a pastry brush, then turn and baste the other. Push the split garlic into the dish, ideally under the chicken, and sprinkle the sliced mushrooms around the edges. Place in a preheated oven on a high heat and cook for 10 min. Turn, stir the mushrooms and garlic and bake for a further 7 min or so. Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool (You can do this the day before and store overnight in the fridge in an airtight container)
Slice the onion and sauté in a pan or, better still, bake in the oven in a ceramic dish, basting with a little olive oil and allowing to cook a little unevenly. Remove once cooked. Again, you can do this the day before and store in the fridge overnight
Prepare the fruit and vegetables; cube the mango and tomatoes and slice the avocado and cover with a little lime juice to prevent discolouration and store together in the fridge
Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the corn on the cob, in its leaves or not, once it begins to boil. Boil for about 15 min if in its leaves, about 10 min if not
Now comes the multitasking: baste a non-stick pan with a little olive oil using a pastry brush and place one of the tortillas in it. Spread the salsa roja over the whole surface. Sprinkle the sliced onions you cooked earlier evenly over the facing surface, followed by the grated cheese. Finally, add the second tortilla and place on top of the other
Depending on your hob's heat, you'll need to cook the tortilla for somewhere between 6 and 8 min. While this is happening, slice the cooled chicken breast
In individual bowls or on plates, arrange the salad leaves, jalapeno peppers, and leaves of coriander. Add the avocado, mango, tomatoes and mushrooms cooked earlier with the chicken
Gently baste the top tortilla with a little olive oil using a pastry brush. Flip the quesadilla carefully using a spatula. You'll need to cook this side for 4 to 6 min; until golden brown
Conscious that you're still keeping an eye on the corn on the cob, lay the sliced chicken breast on the top of the salad leaves and garnish with the chopped spring onions. If cooking the corn in its leaves, simply allow to boil. But, if cooking it peeled, remove from the boiling water once the kernels begin to soften and finish in a hot oven to bring the flavours out, basting with a little olive oil
Lift the quesadilla from the pan and cool for a moment, cutting into segments, pizza-style. Bring to the table with your corn on the cob dressed with a little butter or olive oil (blackened here and there is fine too) and fresh, ground black pepper
Pay due care when dressing the salad. This is not a dressing you mix in the normal manner. First dress with the balsamico, ideally using a "spritzer". Then drizzle with a sparing quantity of the lime (or lemon) juice. Finally, introduce the only elements you mix together beforehand, the sour cream and finely grated garlic, in big, dramatic dollops. Enjoy!
Alternatives
So far, the best pescatarian alternative I've found is swordfish or tuna steak, which you treat pretty much exactly like the chicken
For veggies, yes, Quorn chunks treated much in the same manner as the chicken work well. But you should also try large slices of aubergine dressed with the fajita spice mix cooked in a similar way (you may need to drain off some of the excess liquid after baking before adding to the salad), an option I personally prefer to the Quorn
Pairings
Okay, so a bit of news: purely by accident I came across this "zero alcohol" wine by Leitz; Leitz Eins, Zwei, Zero (no I wasn't drunk at the time) without even realising it was a booze-free wine ('cos it's not priced like one). And I must confess that it's the first alcohol-free wine to truly impress me. But, more of that later...
Otherwise quaff a good white in the general direction of a dry Riesling or Albariño with this one and you'll be fine; maybe even a peppery South African Chenin Blanc or sunburned Sicilian Catarratto. Basically, go for something that can deal with the spices and bite of the jalapenos even thought the overall spirit of the dish remains light and summery.
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