Mexican chicken estofado—a type of hotpot— with carrot, red kidney beans and chipotle is an easy and warming dish, ideal for the winter months. And, I particularly love it with tortillas. I've also found that kids like this healthy dish—at least kids raised on fiery flavours.
Ay, Chihuahua!
I have no idea whether these Mexican chicken estofado tortillas are traditional or not. I first encountered this wonderful stew a good while back in a local cantina while knocking about in the Copper Canyon—Las Barrancas del Cobre—in Chihuahua. Between my pidgin Spanish and the speed with which the guy who ran the place spoke, I managed to cobble together enough information to recreate a working version of it. But, any insightful detail was lost in translation.
Copper Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and arguably the most overlooked wonder of Mexico, is located high in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains. It was cold when I was there. And, no, it's not exactly a shock that this dish reminded me a lot of similar artisanal winter dishes I've encountered in mountainous regions of northern Spain.
It's become one of my go-to winter faves and it's not difficult to cook. But, it's not exactly quick; one of those dishes that benefits from slower cooking.
When it comes to how "hot" a dish is, it's all relative and I'm of that camp that has loved spicy food since childhood. But, attempting to be objective, I'd say this recipe produces a fairly spicy dish. Don't be fooled by tasting as it cooks: it settles into a milder endpoint once cooked. Yet, if you're not wild about spicy food—or to err on the side of caution—I suggest halving the quantities of the following in this recipe: the sliced fresh hot red chilli; the chipotle flakes; and the pimentón. The rest of the ingredients are not "hot".
These Mexican chicken estofado tortillas call for aloe vera juice, which you can find through specialist purveyors and in health stores in many locations. I tend to use bottled aloe vera drink—a dilution of pure aloe vera juice in spring water and far more widely available—mainly because the recipe calls for you to add water too. Thus, it's the proverbial two birds with one stone. The reason I've listed this ingredient as "optional", is because I can't honestly say that I've noticed any real difference in flavour when it's not used. I think that it's main contribution is to help the estofado reduce. But, that's also something the chocolate does and, frankly, any sauce will reduce to exactly how you want it to be if you cook it long enough on a very low heat.
When I first ate this dish it was served with "Mexican rice", a golden, spiced rice cooked with sweetcorn, which was delicious. But, when I pulled my usual schtick and hounded the guy who owned the cantina where I discovered it, he told me that it was often served with tortillas as an alternative. And—if I've got this right—they also sometimes served it with quesadillas of cheese, garlic and rosemary for a particular saint's day. Needless to say, I've tried them all and they're all good. So, knock yourself out. This time I'm opting for tortillas.
Similarly, the spinach is also "optional". I'm a great believer in "stealth veggies", especially in dishes that normative kids who prefer sweeties to vegetables will happily eat.
This recipe feeds 3 to 4 diners, even though not all of the images are of these quantities. Scale up or down as needed.
Shopping list
for the Mexican chicken estofado tortillas
2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into fairly large pieces
3 medium onions, sliced into thin rings
3 tspns of smoked garlic, finely chopped (or grated fresh garlic)
1 or 2 bell peppers; roughly cubed
3 or 4 large carrots, cut into chunky batons
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes in their juice
1 400g tin of red kidney beans, in water
1 large fresh hot red chilli, thinly sliced
1 tspn pimentón (smoked paprika)
1.5 tspns smoked chipotle flakes
½ tspn cumin powder
1 tspn dried oregano
1 tspn dried parsley
A large clutch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
Approx. 70g chopped spinach; fresh or frozen (optional)
1 glass of red wine (optional)
the juice and zest of 1 fresh lime
2 tbspns aloe vera juice or 100ml aloe vera drink (optional)
Approx. 6 tbspns olive oil
Approx. 30g dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa); finely grated
salt and pepper to taste
Approx. 100ml soured cream (optional)
1 tspn of minced red chillies
to accompany
rice, flour tortillas, corn tortillas, bread or tacos; to preference
A simple salad of tomatoes, cucumber , carrots and iceberg lettuce
sour cream, mixed with lime zest and the minced chilli
Cooking Method
for the Mexican chicken estofado tortillas
Heat half of the olive oil in a large pot with a lid on a medium heat. When hot, add the smoked garlic and sizzle for a minute. Add the finely sliced onion rings and sauté
When the onions soften, add the sliced fresh chilli and cook together. When the onions turn "glassy", add the bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper and gently sauté. This should not be rushed; anywhere between 10 and 15mins minimum
When the onions brown, push the ingredients to the sides of the pot. Add the remaining olive oil and heat. Then add the chicken and sizzle without stirring for at least a minute or two. Slowly stir in other ingredients; the chipotle and other dry spices. Stir gently every few minutes so that the chicken seals on all sides
Pour in half of the red wine (if using) and simmer off. Before completely cooked off, add the lime juice. Stir in so that it mixes with the juices at the bottom of the pot
When the chicken is sealed on all sides—hopefully there is still a little liquid at the bottom of the pot—add the carrot batons and stir in. Add the finely chopped coriander and stir in so that the carrots are fully coated in the herbs and juices
When the juices have almost cooked off, turn the heat to high—time it deftly because you don't want anything to stick—and pour in the chopped tomatoes and their juice and the remainder of the red wine. Add the aloe vera juice and water (or drink) to the empty tomato tin: you want it half-full with liquid. Swill around, add to the pot and bring the ingredients to the boil. Boil vigorously for 5mins. Cover and reduce to a low heat so that the ingredients barely simmer
Simmer on a low heat, stirring every 10 to 15mins. If it becomes too dry, add a little water, approx. ¼ cup at at time. Stir, re-cover and continue to simmer
Once these ingredients have cooked for approx. 40mins, drain the tin of red kidney beans. Add to the pot and stir in. Re-cover and simmer for another 30mins, stirring occasionally. Again, if it becomes too dry (this generally means the heat is too high), add a little more water and stir in
After your estofado has cooked for about 1.5 hours, check it. If the chicken flakes naturally—not disintegrating, but rather flaking when you stir the pot—it's time for the final stretch. Add the chocolate and gently stir in. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, re-cover and simmer for approx. a further 10mins
During this last leg, you need to be attentive: if things are progressing well, the estofado will reduce relatively rapidly after the chocolate is added. This increases the risk of things sticking. So, you'll need to be on standby to stir the pot
While the stew is reducing, mix the zest of the fresh lime and minced red chilli with the soured cream for the accompaniment. Also, at about this time, start preparing your salad.NB: if rice is your choice, you should be cooking it by now; or, alternatively, you should be heating the tortillas in a moderately hot oven
When the stew is cooked, add the chopped spinach; a little earlier if using frozen. You really don't want to overcook it. A few minutes is all it takes, even from frozen
When optimally cooked, remove the estofado from the heat and rest; covered. Take to table with the oven-heated tortillas and serve with the salad and sour cream condiment
Alternatives
Bluntly, you don't need to add the chicken at all. This dish is a wonderful veggie or vegan dish simply by ignoring the chicken step in the recipe above. Or, you can add Quorn pieces, tofu or thick mushroom slices as alternatives. Until you add the chicken—and the optional soured cream condiment—this is effectively a vegan dish.
I've never actually attempted a pescatarian version of this dish, so not really got any insight on that topic. However, carnivores, I have cooked versions with cubed beef, and that also worked very well.
Pairings
Back in the day, when I first encountered this dish, nobody documented anything on smartphones. What I do remember was first having it with a red wine of which the owner of the cantina up in Copper Canyon was really proud, proud that they had "real Spanish wines" on their list out in the sticks of Chihuahua. And, it was really good, probably a Tempranillo or Rioja. I can't remember what it was, but I remember it being both woody and heavy, and how that worked really well with this dish.
Fast forward to years later. My reinvented version of this dish had become a staple and I cooked it for a friend, a New Yorker passing through London during the winter. He's a bit of a wine fan. He said he was going to bring some wine so, I briefly explained the dish. He turned up with a pinot noir from the La Crema winery in Monterrey that remains one of my all-time winegasms. Again, no memory of exactly what it was other than it was a pinot noir that worked exquisitely with this dish.
So, that's kinda my "moral of the story": look to the Spanish heritage of wines in the so-called New World and you're probably on the right track, whether a solid pinotage (a.k.a. pinot noir) from the Cape or one of those gorgeous (and now very pricey) Napa numbers. And, sure, there are umpteen Portuguese and Spanish classics that will deliver. But, simply consider the taste axis of this dish. There is a lot of sweetness here—butternut squash, carrots and tomatoes—while the spices pull it in both a smoky and "prickly" direction: chipotle; chilli; pimentón; coriander; dried parsley; et al...
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