Mains, MealsGeorgia Salamat

Pulled Chicken Tacos with Burnt Pineapple Salsa

Mains, MealsGeorgia Salamat
Pulled Chicken Tacos with Burnt Pineapple Salsa

The Dish

 

Pulled Chicken Tacos

Best for: Dinner, Lunch

Serves: 4

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 45 mins

Mexican food is all about big, powerful flavours and this pulled chicken is just that. The slow roasting causes the chicken to be so tender and works so well against all the spices.

The spices are all lifted by the zingy, sweet salsa and then balanced with the creaminess of the avocado.

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The Recipe

Step 1

Remove the skin from the chicken thighs.

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl, add the chicken thighs and leave to marinade for at least a couple of hours, over night is better.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to fan 200 degrees.

Step 3

Add the chicken thighs to a baking tray with a good pinch of salt and cover with tin foil and roast for 45minutes. Remove the tin foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Step 4

While the chicken is cooking make the salsa.

Remove the skin from the pineapple and slice it into rings, about 1cm thick.

Place the pineapple rings into a hot pan and cook until the edges start to charr slightly, this will intensify the flavour and give it a hint of caramelisation. Dice the pineapple and peppers into small pieces, around 0.5cm squared. Finely chop the herbs and chilli (taste the chilli to asses the spice levels before adding it all in.)

In a bowl, mix the honey, spices, lime juice and oil. Add the peppers, pineapple, chilli and herbs and mix well.

Taste the salsa to assess the balance of flavours: pineapples vary in sweetness so you many need to add a little more honey.

Step 5

Remove the chicken from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the thyme and bay leaf, and use a fork to shred the chicken, it should fall straight off the bone. (Do this in the same tray you cooked the chicken in.)

Once the chicken is shredded, remove the bones and stir the shredded meat into the rest of the marinade in the tray - this will make it super juicy. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime.

Step 5

Prep all the ingredients to assemble your taco:

Slice the avocado, or mash into a quick guac with a little lime and salt.

Shred the cabbage and pick off a few mint and coriander leaves.

Heat the tortillas in a dry pan, about 1 minute each side.

Assemble the tacos: Start with a few spinach leaves, some red cabbage, a spoon or slices of avocado, lots of chicken, a couple of spoons of salsa, jalapeños and a little crumbled feta.

 

INGREDIENTS

The chicken

  • 4-6 chicken thighs, on the bone.

  • 3 tsp chipotle paste

  • Juice and zest of 1 orange

  • Juice and zest of 1 lime

  • 2 garlic cloves crushed

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 5 sprigs of thyme

  • 1 tbsp tomato pure

  • 1 tbsp honey

  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1.5 tsp ground cumin

  • 1.4 tsp smoked paprika

  • 1.5 tsp dried oregano

  • 1 tsp allspice

Salsa

  • 1/4 of a Pineapple

  • 3 limes

  • 1 red chilli - seeds removed.

  • 2 roasted red peppers (from a jar as saves faff)

  • Bunch of Coriander (40g)

  • Bunch of Mint (40g)

  • Bunch of parsley (40g)

  • 1 tbsp honey

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil (can use olive oil here if you don’t have sesame)

  • 1/2 tsp cumin

  • Salt

To serve

  • 4 tortilla wraps

  • 1 avocado

  • 1/4 red cabbage

  • Red jalapeños

  • Small bag of spinach

  • Small bunch of mint

  • Small bunch of coriander

  • Feta