Easy Tex chicken with a smoky pepper sauce
This plate might not look that great but this is next level chicken and chips,, Tex/Mex chicken breast and that smoky pepper sauce is just wow. The method and spice rub will be something you will repeat.
Also on the plate is a tomotillo relish, I grow tomotillos in the greenhouse as you can't buy them in the UK, well not in Cumbria, and this year (2024) have only had a few, but nothing has grown for me but weeds this year. Tomotillos are a Mexican veg/fruit that grows in a husk to about the size of a tomato and tastes somewhere between a gooseberry and a lime, with the texture of a tomato. They might be weird but definitely my favourite crop. Err normally.
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Put in a blender and blitz, mostly to chop up the seeds.
Roast some red peppers and onions, also garlic brushed the veg with oil until the skins burn, some large chillies, also the long ones if available, brush with oil and grill or air fry until they start to burn then peel back the browned bits, then liquidise with some brown sugar, some Dijon mustard, a teaspoon of honey and some cider vinegar and season. Put in a pan and warm gently. Adjust everything until you are fine and thinking this is the best sauce ever.
Bobby Flay, an American chef, writes in his cook book, 'Mesa Grills', which is virtually impossible to understand; unless you are American, says that, 'This smoked red pepper and chipotle sauce is the workhorse of our kitchen, it goes with so many dishes'.
He's right once you've made this sauce......