Mexican Smoked Chicken and Avocado Salad with Pepitas

The Guajillo (wha-hee-oh) chile is the most common dried chile in Mexico after the Ancho. The flavor of the Guajillo is distinct, slightly fruity with a strong piney, berry under taste. Guajillo flavors dished easily so a little goes a long way. This chile is between a 2-4 on the heat scale of 1-10. Guajillo, combined with the Passilla and Ancho, form the holy trinity of chiles used to prepare the traditional mole sauces.

INGREDIENTS

MEXICAN SMOKED CHICKEN AND AVOCADO SALAD:
1 head of broccoli, florets and stems finely chopped
1 avocado, stone removed
250g (9oz) smoked chicken breast, skin removed and sliced
½ punnet of cherry tomatoes cut in half
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 baby cos lettuce, finally chopped

MEXICAN DRESSING:
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp Mexican spice mix
½ tsp runny honey
1 tbsp tomato sauce
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 dried guajillo chile

TO SERVE:
4 corn tortilla wraps
50g (1.7oz) pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Bring a full kettle to the boil.

In a small bowl, whisk all Mexican dressing ingredients together until smooth. Allow to sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

Place broccoli in a medium, heat-proof, bowl with a pinch of salt and cover with boiling water and a plate. Leave for 3 minutes until just tender, then drain and set aside.

Dice avocado and place in a large bowl with remaining smoked chicken salad ingredients. Set aside.

To cook tortillas, heat a large fry-pan on high heat. Fill a shallow dish with cold water. Dip each tortilla quickly into the water the toast for 30 seconds on each side until slightly golden brown and crispy.

Remove the dried chile from the dressing and discard. Toss half the dressing through the salad, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, divide Mexican smoked chicken and avocado salad between plate. Spoon over remaining dressing and sprinkle over pepitas. Serve crispy tortillas on the side, or broken through salad.