Mexican Chipotle Chicken
with Verde Rice
The zingy chipotle chicken bowl will have you feeling fine. Make sure you prepare your chicken marinade before you get to the rest of your prep. That way, your caramelised chicken will be absolutely dripping with flavour.
1 cube
chicken stock
1 packet
free range chicken thighs
1 sachet
taco spice blend
(May be presentGluten)1
lime
2 clove
garlic
1
zucchini
1 bunch
spring onions
1 packet
basmati rice
1 bunch
coriander
1 bunch
oregano
Not included in your delivery
2 cup
hot water
1 tsp
honey
1 tbs
olive oil
To prepare the ingredients, peel and crush the garlic. Zest and juice the lime. Dice the zucchini. Finely slice the spring onions (keep the white and green part separate). Rinse the Basmati rice. In a jug combine the crumbled chicken stock cube and hot water and stir with a fork until dissolved.
In the large bowl, combine the taco seasoning, honey, half the olive oil, half the garlic, the lime zest and half the lime juice. Chop the chicken thighs into 2 cm chunks, add to bowl and toss to coat in the marinade. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the rice.
Heat a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the remaining olive oil, garlic, zucchini and white part of the spring onion. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the Basmati rice and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until coated in the oil. Slowly pour in the chicken stock mixture and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. Simmer for 10 minutes, remove the lid and continue simmering for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the water has absorbed. This will jazz up the flavour of the traditional basmati rice.
When the rice has 10 minutes of cook time remaining, heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chicken (shaking off any excess marinade) and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly charred and cooked through. Tip: Don’t overcrowd the pan to ensure you get some nice caramelisation on the chicken.
Finely chop the coriander leaves and stalks. Roughly chop the oregano leaves. Once the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and stir through the green part of the spring onion, coriander, oregano (save a few herbs for the garnish!) and remaining lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, divide the verde rice between bowls. Top with Mexican chipotle chicken and garnish with the remaining coriander and oregano. Enjoy!