Spicy Grilled Chicken Fajitas with Mango Salad

Photo: Alex Koloskov / Istock 

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SERVES
4 servings

PREP TIME
20 minutes

COOKING TIME
10 minutes

SHOPPING LIST
3 avocados
1 lemon
1 lime
1 head crisp lettuce (iceberg or romaine)
2 large, ripe mangos
2 scallions
1 inch fresh ginger
1 jalapeno
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package sesame seeds
2 cups sour cream
12 really good flour tortillas

PANTRY ITEMS
Garlic
Hot paprika
Sea salt

SUGGESTIONS
Wine: Beer or margaritas
Dessert: Nectarines and peaches over ice cream
There will likely be leftovers – lucky you!

GAME PLAN
When you walk in the door, don't refrigerate the chicken. Preheat the grill or the broiler and place the rack 3 inches from the heat source. If you’ll use the broiler, line a baking sheet with foil. Set out the pantry items and tools you will need. Open a beer, and put the rest in the refrigerator.

Put a chicken breast on top of a piece of plastic wrap. Cover it with another piece, and pound it until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with all the chicken breasts.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the peel and the seeds, and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes. Put them in a bowl and squeeze half a lemon over them, tossing together gently. This will be a garnish later.

Zest the lime, measure out 1/2 cup of sesame seeds, and rinse the lettuce and spin it dry. Stack the leaves and cut into thin strips. Put them in a bowl in the fridge.

Cut the mangoes into 1/4 inch pieces, and put them in a medium-sized bowl. Trim the root and about half the green from the scallions, and cut what’s left into very thin rounds. Peel the ginger, and mince enough to get 1 teaspoon.

Trim the stem end from the jalapeno, and remove the seeds and the white pith (that’s where a lot of the heat is). Mince the jalapeno, and remember to wash your hands! Peel and mince one garlic clove.

Sprinkle the flour tortillas lightly with a little bit of water, then wrap them in foil and put them on the grill away from the heat source, or in the oven on the bottom rack.

Press sesame seeds all over the chicken breasts and sprinkle them all over with salt and hot paprika.

To make the mango salad, add the scallions, the lime zest, the minced ginger and as much of the jalapeno as you think your palate can stand, to the mango and toss. Squeeze the lime and measure out 2 tablespoons juice. Pour this over the mango salad, and toss. Salt the salad to your taste, and put it on the table with the avocado.

In fact, set the table now. Put out extra napkins.

Put the chicken on the grill. If you’re broiling, put the chicken on the foil-lined sheet and put it under the broiler. The chicken will take about 2 minutes per side to cook.

Put the sour cream in a bowl, and put it on the table with the lettuce and the beer. Turn the chicken and cut into one breast – if it is no longer pink, take all the chicken from the grill.

Cut the chicken into 1/2 inch strips, and put them in a dish. Get the tortillas from the oven and put them in a basket – leave them wrapped in foil.

When you’re sitting at the table with everyone, show them how to make a fajita – you put some chicken in the center of the tortilla, and cover it with everything else (including the mango salad if you want to), then you do your best to get your mouth around it!

Recipe courtesy of NoTakeOut. The mission of NoTakeOut is to provide a complete menu, an express-line-friendly shopping list and a game plan to prepare a delicious, seasonal dinner. NoTakeOut goes beyond just a recipe by helping you buy and prepare an entire meal, not just a dish – and have fun in the process. See how to make this dish as part of a complete meal.

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