CEGS TEX-MEXICAN BANQUET
I adore meals
where I can sample a little (or a lot) from a variety of things and construct
my own plate, so a Tex-Mex feast to celebrate the 4th of July was a very
tempting idea! Now, when it comes to the tacos, it all lies in what’s available
to you; sadly Barcelona doesn’t have a clue what taco shells are, so I thought
I could home-make them. Nope; I ended up with a smoke filled kitchen and some
concerned neighbours instead. So, if taco shells aren’t available to you, this
platter of flavours goes super well with nacho chips too!
N.B. Make sure to marinate the chicken a good few hours before you want to
start cooking up the feast!
Serves 4
Mexican lime chicken ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- salt and pepper
Guacamole ingredients:
- 2 ripe avocados
- juice of ½ a lime
- ½ a tomato, chopped into small chunks
- ½ small red onion, chopped finely
- large handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- splash of Mild Tabasco (the green bottle)
- salt to taste
Salsa (pico de gallo) ingredients:
- 3 large fresh tomatoes, chopped into medium chunks
- small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- dash of lime juice
- ½ small red onion, chopped into medium chunks
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp Mild Tabasco (the green bottle)
- salt to taste
Refried beans ingredients:
- Dash of olive oil
- 400g kidney beans (cooked) (black beans also make great refried beans!)
- 1 ½ tbsp cumin
- ½ cup of water (to add as needed throughout cooking)
Cabbage slaw ingredients:
- ¼ large red cabbage
- 3 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp mustard
Lime dressing ingredients:
- ½ cup of mayonnaise
- juice of 2 limes
- 3 small cloves of garlic, crushed
- small handful of fresh coriander
Method
- Cut the chicken into 2 inch pieces (or long slender pieces like goujons) and place into a bowl suitable to refrigerate
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together and pour over the chicken
- Massage the marinade into the chicken and cover with cling film before refrigerating for a minimum of 4 hours to really sink in the flavours
- To make the guacamole; smash the avocado but don’t be too heavy-handed with it; we want it fairly chunky (not a paste, please) and place into a bowl. Mix in the other ingredients, adjust salt and Tabasco to your liking and set aside. N.B. Don’t make this too far ahead as it will turn brown
- To make the salsa; simply mix all the ingredients together and set aside, allowing it to reach room temperature
- To make the refried beans; heat a dash of olive oil into a small frying pan until sizzling and then add the beans and cumin. Keep stirring (you can get a little heavy-handed with this as refried beans are supposed to be slightly smashed!) and add water as and when the beans look a little too dry.
- For the cabbage slaw; shred the cabbage in a food processor until chunky (be careful not to over-blend as we still want the crunchy texture). Transfer into a mixing bowl and gently fold in the mustard and mayonnaise (no mashing please) .
- Now for the lime dressing; I was a little cautious with this as it’s super zesty but I think you’ll get a little addicted to it in any case! Just simply blend all the ingredients together in a food processor and you’re ready to drizzle over your tacos!
- Place each ‘dish’ on the dining table ready for your guests to dig in and build their own little plate!
I also like to serve a small portion of crumbled feta on the side, to sprinkle over… and some nice cold Desperados too!
. . . Heal the World
