“Grab your skillet, your chicken breasts, and kick dinner up a spicy notch tonight.” So says Fine Cooking’s “Make-It-Tonight” series where we found this scrumptious dish. And while yes, it did have a slight kick, it was by no means over the top. You can always raise the bar in that arena by increasing the spices and/or adding more jalapeño.
And as is my usual, I did make a few changes. For starters I increased the quantity of the chicken breasts (you could also use thigh meat), used 2 cloves of garlic instead of 1, added an onion, and replaced the water with chicken stock—all of which deepened the flavor profile. It was unfortunate that it was not fresh corn season, but frozen worked out just fine.
OMG, was it good! No actually, the meal was fabulous! With any leftovers, you can turn this Tex-Mex dish into a wrap.
Tex-Mex Chicken with Chile and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1-1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3-1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter, more as needed
- 1-1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
- 1 small onion, halved vertically, then thinly sliced horizontally
- 1 medium jalapeño, seeded if desired and thinly sliced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 2–3 medium limes, 1 or 2 juiced to yield 3 Tbs. and 1 cut into wedges
- 1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
Directions
- Position a rack about 4 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler to high.
- Toss the chicken with the chili powder, cumin, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Lightly dredge the chicken in the flour and shake off any excess.
- Melt 2-1/2 Tbs. of the butter in a very large ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. You may need to do this in 2 batches, otherwise you’ll steam the chicken instead of browning it.
- Add the remaining 1 Tbs. butter, onion slices and a pinch of salt. Cook for 2 minutes to start softening, stirring occasionally.
- Add the corn, jalapeño, garlic, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring, until the corn begins to brown lightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken, lime juice, oregano, and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Cook, stirring, until the chicken is just cooked through, about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the cheddar and transfer the skillet to the broiler. Broil until the cheese melts and browns on top, about 3 minutes.
- Serve with lime wedges.
Adapted from a recipe by Tony Rosenfeld from Fine Cooking
Accounting for Taste 