Southwest Chicken
Today, Sept. 7th, I entered the Columbia County Fair Cooking Contest. Below is the recipe I submitted: (See pictures above)
Black Bean Sauce:
1 bag black beans
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
water and chicken base, as needed, approx 8 cups, start with 4 and keep adding as it cooks
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Cabo Spice (a chipotle seasoning mix from Hannaford)
S&P to taste
Sour Cream to garnish
In a heavy sauce pan, med-high, heat oil, add onions, seasonings and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, add beans and water/chicken base, cook for 45 minutes. Add cilantro. Cook for another 45 minutes on low-medium heat. Beans should be tender.
Chicken:
2 ea. chicken breasts, sliced on the bias
olive oil
2 ea chipotle peppers
1/4 bunch cilantro
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
Cut and marinate chicken. Grill off prior to serving.
Salsa:
2 ea diced ripe tomatoes
4 ea wax peppers, red and yellow, grill off and peel off skin, de-seed, and dice
2 ea limes, juiced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
olive oil
1/4 bunch cilantro
2 ea jalapeno peppers, grilled, peeled and seeded, minced
S&P to taste
Take the peppers and jalapenos, rub with olive oil, S&P, and grill off until skin blisters. Peel off skin and de-seed peppers. Dice. Add all ingredients, mix well.
Roasted Corn:
2 ea ears of sweet corn, grilled with oil, 1 tbsp Cabo seasoning, S&P. Cut off cob with knife.
Guacamole:
1 ea ripe avocado
2 limes, juiced
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
Tortillas: cut into diamond shape. Use the trim from the diamonds. Cut into julienne strips (very thin).
Fry in crisco at 350 F. until crisp, approx 2 minutes, drain on paper towels, season with S&P.
Finishing:
Put black bean sauce in the front-middle of the plate. Using a pastry bag, pipe sour cream in a circular pattern over the beans. Using a small knife, pull from the center of the plate outwards to the rim (pic above). it will create a spider-like web pattern. Shingle chicken pieces, 4 per serving, on the black beans. Top with salsa, grilled corn, and guacamole. Stick 1 diamond tortilla pc into guacamole, and 2 pc more standing on its side. Garnish with julienne tortilla strips and fresh cilantro sprigs.
Bon Appetite!
Ingredient source:
The Berry Farm, Chatham, NY - chicken, peppers, black beans, cilantro, olive oil
Chatham Food Co-Op, Chatham, NY - red onion, garlic, avocado, limes, sour cream
Samascott Farm, Kinderhook, NY - corn, tomatoes
Hannaford Supermarket, Valatie, NY - Cabo Seasoning, flour tortillas, crisco
My Marinara Sauce
