Grilled Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
Yields 4
Ingredients
For the Chicken
15 ounce diced canned tomatoes
1 chipotle, rehydrated in hot water till soft (keep 2 TBSP of soaking water)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon roughly chopped cilantro
salt (1/2 teaspoon)
1 pound chicken breasts, pounded out evenly until 1-2 inches thick and seasoned all over with salt and pepper
For the Slaw
1/2 cup yogurt
juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces broccoli slaw (see note)
Fajita-sized flour tortillas
Instructions
Puree the tomatoes, chipotle pepper, 2 TBSP soaking water, yogurt, cilantro and salt in a blender until smooth. Pour about have of the sauce into a large zip lock bag. Place the chicken in the bag, seal the bag, and sort of squeeze the marinade all around the chicken so it’s coated. Let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Pour the rest of the yogurt mixture into a bowl, cover it, and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to spoon over the cooked chicken.
While the chicken is marinating, prepare the slaw. Combine the yogurt, lime juice, chopped cilantro, and salt in a medium bowl. Toss the coleslaw mix around in the yogurt mixture until well coated. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Preheat a gas grill to high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels. Discard the marinade. Once heated, grill the chicken for about four or five minutes before flipping and grilling the other side. Cook until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. Remove the chicken from the grill and let it rest a few minutes before slicing. While the chicken is resting, toss the flour tortillas on the hot grill. Let them heat for about 1-2 minutes on both sides, just until they develop grill marks.
Pile the broccoli slaw on the tortillas and top with the grilled chicken. Spoon the reserved chipotle sauce over the top and serve.
Makes approximately 8 tacos.
Notes
Look for small bags of prepared broccoli slaw in the produce section. The broccoli slaw really stands up to the yogurt dressing without getting soggy, but if you can’t find it look for regular coleslaw mix made with cabbage and carrots.
Slightly adapted from girlgonegourmet.com