Green Chile Chicken Tacos with Mexican Street Corn
If you like chicken tacos but are a little bit bored by the same stir fry of chicken, peppers, and onions, I’ve got a great recipe to share with you for Cinco de Mayo. It’s definitely not your same old, same old.
I’m sure you’ve heard of meal kit delivery services like Blue Apron, Plated, Hello Fresh et al. Recently, one of my sisters was going out of town and had forgotten to cancel her shipment from Plated, so Roger and I were the lucky recipients and got to cook and eat three very delicious meals. I actually sent my sister photos of each of the meals she missed!
As a marketing tool, members of the meal service are allowed to send an offer for a free trial of three meals to friends, and my sister did just that by sending one to me after I told her how much hubby and I had enjoyed the meals. Not one to turn down free food, I signed up for the free trial shipment. If you’re not familiar with how these meal kit delivery service companies work, once you sign up, they send you a box of fresh ingredients—everything you need with the general exception of oil, salt and pepper—to make some gourmet meals on a somewhat regular basis. Recipes, of course, are included.
Since I’m not really familiar with any of the services other than Plated, all I can tell you is that with Plated you can have weekly boxes sent, or you can skip weeks so that you get a box whenever you want, even once a month—whatever suits you. It’s very easy to cancel the service entirely as well if you want to after the free trial or later. Roger and I really enjoyed the three meals my sister gave us when she went out of town, and we also enjoyed the three meals from the free trial. So, the company’s strategy worked as we decided to stay with the service!
This recipe was a winner for me since I love tomatillos, green chiles and poblano peppers. The crema had a bit of zip to it with the chipotle paste, so I didn’t add as much to my tacos as Roger did. The Mexican street corn was a nice simple side dish, and a squeeze of lime over everything gave it an additional fresh touch of flavor.
The only downside to the service is that there are no leftovers—darn! But now that I have the recipe in my possession, that won’t be a problem in the future.
One year ago: Barb’s Shrimp Salad
Two years ago: Copycat Chipotle’s Corn Salsa
Three years ago: Tamale Pie
Four years ago: Homemade Taco Seasoning
Five years ago: Margarita Cupcakes
Six years ago: Downsizing Time
Seven years ago: Margaritas
Green Chile Chicken Tacos with Mexican Street Corn
Makes 2 servings but can be easily doubled.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tbl. olive oil
- Kosher salt & pepper to taste (For a guide, I specified how much salt I used in directions. For pepper, I gave my usual 2 or 3 twists with my pepper mill.)
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 lime, divided
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 6 oz. tomatillos, peeled and rinsed
- 2 to 4 tbl. cilantro, divided
- 1 poblano chile
- 2 tbl. diced green chiles
- 6 corn tortillas
- 2 cups corn
- 2 tsp. plus 1/4 cup mayonnaise, divided
- 2 oz. queso fresco, divided
- 1/2 tsp. chipotle paste
Directions
Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Heat oil in medium pan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add chicken and sear until cooked through and no longer pink, approximately 4 minutes per side depending on thickness of chicken. Transfer chicken to a plate or cutting board and set aside to rest, about 5 minutes. Wipe pan clean and reserve for cooking salsa.
While chicken cooks, halve lime; cut one half into wedges for serving. Mince garlic. Remove and discard husks from tomatillos, rinse well, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Rinse cilantro and roughly chop leaves, discarding stems. Rinse poblano, halve lengthwise, and using a knife tip, discard seeds and steam; cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Once rested, roughly chop chicken.
Return pan from chicken to medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When oil is shimmering, add garlic, tomatillos, poblano, and half of cilantro. Cook until tomatillos are soft and jammy, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add green chiles, chopped chicken, 3 tablespoons of water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until liquid is fully evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
Stack tortillas, wrap in foil, and place in a 425o F preheated oven to warm through, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add corn and sauté, stirring, until warmed through and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Stir in 2 teaspoons mayonnaise, half of queso fresco, juice of 1/2 lime, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper as desired.
Make Chipotle Crema: Stir chipotle paste and 1/8 teaspoon salt in 1/4 cup of mayonnaise. Combine to make crema and set aside until ready to serve.
Divide warmed tortillas between serving plates and fill with green chile chicken, remaining cilantro, and remaining queso fresco. Drizzle chipotle crema over. It’s a bit spicy, so start with a little and adjust per your taste. Serve with Mexican street corn and lime wedges for squeezing over.
Fran’s Notes
I made the recipe exactly as is, and it was delicious. Since I am, however, a notorious tweaker of recipes and since I adore cumin, I think next time I’ll add some.
Source: A Plated meal service recipe