Broiled Chipotle Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice and Sauteed Rainbow Chard

THE authority on Mexican cooking (aside from any friends with Mexican grandmothers of course!

This recipe resulted from the question: "what do I make with the heavy cream, rainbow chard and cilantro in my pantry?"

 

I started with the chard, which would be cooked after the chicken was broiled. This chard was from, you guessed it! The Families First Farm! Being fresh picked and not messed with these veggies typically have a lot of dirt and sand in them. I cannot emphasize enough the value of having a salad spinner. It makes life so much easier when washing salad greens and herbs. If you don't have one and eat a lot of salad: get one! In my opinion, Oxo makes the best version - it has a rubber ring on the bottom so the bowl doesn't slide all over the counter. Additionally, a breaking system for slowing the spin down. Good stuff.

 

The Broiled Chipotle chicken recipe was written for chicken breasts so I improvised a little bit with bone-in, skin-on thighs. In a nutshell, the chicken is marinated in heavy cream and chopped chipotles (about 3) for several hours (see above photo). The next step is to broil the chicken for a few minutes on each side - which can be done with breasts that have been flattened. Not with thighs. So I baked them in some more heavy cream at 400 for about 30 minutes first (to avoid poisoning ourselves salmonella)...then finished them by broiling them (so the skin crisps up). 

Meanwhile....

 

The rice was cooking away (in equal parts water and chicken broth - makes for tasty rice). Once cooked simply toss it with juice of one lime and a bunch of cilantro. Season with salt & pepper.

Refreshing yet savory!

 Once the chicken is done and rice is set aside and warming. Put the heavy cream/chipotle mixture from the cooked chicken in a saucepan. Add about 1/2 cup of chicken broth and dump your cleaned chard (or spinach or kale) in and cook until wilted.

 

This is NICE and SPICY! Great warm and smoky heat. A roasty, earthy chicken with a kick. The chard had the most kick to it since most of the actual cut up peppers ended up on it (if you look closely at the photo you'll see). The rice was a fabulous and bright balance...and we had some chips with it too. All in all, delicious! Definitely making again.