Mexican Chipotle Chicken – a naturally gluten-free dish!
Tender grilled chicken thighs marinated in a sweet and spicy homemade Mexican chipotle sauce and cooked together with chargrilled red peppers and corn-on-the-cob pieces is a naturally gluten-free winning dish.
What is chipotle?
Chipotle is a smoked, dried jalapeño chilli, which looks like a prune and has a fiery flavour, reaching 7/10 on the spice Scoville scale. They are usually sold dried or in an “adobo” tomato onion sauce which mellows down the spiciness slightly, adding some sweet tones to it. This combination is perfect for adding great flavours to meats, sauces and mayonnaise.
Most of us are familiar with chipotle sauce as it has started making appearances on restaurant menus, supermarket shelves and even Tabasco sauce has a chipotle version. I like to make my own sauce using the tinned pickled chipotle peppers soaked in adobo sauce found in most Mexican or International supermarkets. The remaining ingredients in the recipe are easy to find in most supermarkets.
How to eat Mexican Chipotle Chicken
Serve the cooked Mexican Chipotle Chicken with either steamed rice, gluten-free corn tortillas, gluten-free corn & cheese waffles or gluten-free flour tortillas.
This chicken dish is a colourful and welcoming addition to any family dinner or casual gathering.
Mexican Chipotle Chicken
Equipment
- Blender, or
- Thermomix
- Skillet or griddle pan
- Large roasting tray
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken thighs, skin and bone removed
CHIPOTLE MARINADE
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 small red onion, sliced coarsely
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 tin chipotle in adobo sauce (215g per tin)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 80 ml white wine vinegar
- 80 ml water
- 1 orange, juiced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
To serve with Chipotle Chicken
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 red peppers/capsicums, sliced coarsely
- 4 whole pre-boiled corn on the cob, cut into small portions
- ¼ bunch fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
- 2 limes, quartered
- Salt & freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
CHIPOTLE MARINADE
Blender method
- Cook the garlic and onions lightly in ½ tbsp of olive oil for 2 minutes.
- Add the softened garlic, onions and any leftover oil to a blender.
- Add all the remaining chipotle marinade ingredients to the blender. Blend on high until the mixture is relatively smooth.
Thermomix method
- Select Vapour, 2 minutes, Speed 1 to cook the garlic and onions in ½ tbsp of olive oil.
- Blend at Speed 5 for 5 seconds.
- Add all the remaining chipotle marinade ingredients and select Vapour, 10 minutes, Speed 2.
- Take the cap OFF, allow the marinade to cool down for 5 mins.
- Select 10 seconds, Speed 6 to blend the chipotle marinade, scrapping down the sides. Pulse several times until the mixture is relatively smooth.
Marinating the Chicken
- Allow the chipotle marinade to cool down for 5 mins before pouring it over the chicken thigh pieces in a glass or ceramic container.
- Cover and chill for at least one hour. Marinating it overnight will develop the flavours immensely.
Cooking the Chipotle Chicken
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Either using a skillet or griddle pan, heat it up on high heat for a few minutes.
- Once smoke can be seen rising from the pan, lower the heat to medium and add a small amount of oil to the pan.
- Add the chicken pieces and fry for 3 minutes on each side or until a nice crispy, slightly charred appearance develops.
- Transfer the chicken pieces to a large, greased roasting tray. Add the red peppers and corn-on-cob pieces. Drizzle olive oil over everything.
- Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, turning the chicken and vegetables halfway through.
- Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a serving platter and cover.
To serve
- Sprinkle the chipotle chicken with fresh coriander leaves, salt and freshly cracked black pepper and serve with lime quarters.
Notes
- Keeps for 3 days chilled
- The uncooked chicken pieces are suitable to freeze in the chipotle marinade
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