A wholesome creation for the Tex-Mex palate: tender garlic-lime chicken over Mexican cabbage and rice, topped with everything you can dream of.
Preparation:
To cook:
Level: Easy
Ingredients
- FOR THE GARLIC-LIME CHICKEN:
- 3 books Chicken breast
- 3 Small limes, juice
- ¼ cups Olive oil
- 2 cloves (coarse) garlic, crushed then minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- FOR THE FAJITA VEGETABLES:
- 1 Large yellow onion, sliced into strips
- 1 Large red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 Large green bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 Large yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 2 Large Seedless Jalapenos Sliced Into Strips
- ¼ cups Olive oil to coat
- Salt and pepper to taste
- FOR THE MEXICAN RICE CAULI:
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- ½ Small yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove Garlic, crushed then minced
- 1 Serrano Pepper Cut Lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 12 ounces, weight Thawed Cauliflower Rice if it comes out of the freezer
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Start this recipe by putting your chicken in the marinade. The longer it stays there, the tastier it will be. Put everything (trimmed chicken breast, lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper) in a zip lock bag and massage well so that everything is combined and the chicken is coated. If you don’t make this ahead of time, let it hang on your work surface while you prep/bake the other steps. If you have a bit of time, you can make this a day ahead and take it out of your fridge at this point to let it come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. On a large baking sheet, add the sliced onion, peppers and jalapeño. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat well and distribute evenly over the dish. Bake for 15 minutes.
Get a grill pan, cast iron or large skillet, hot with a little olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet, leaving a little space between each chicken so it doesn’t smoke and has nice grill marks. You will cook it for about 5 minutes on each side. It will be almost fully cooked when you remove it from the grill. If it’s still a little pink, it’s fine! When the chicken is done, transfer it to a cutting board and slice it thin (or thick, if you prefer) against the grain.
When the chicken is cut, add it to the baking sheet of vegetables, juices and all, that you have just taken out of the oven. It should be right around the same time if everything was prepared. Mix them all together to marry the flavors and spread them evenly again. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are golden brown.
Once the chicken and vegetables are in the oven, prepare the cabbage and rice. Heat another pan with oil. Add the diced onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add the tomato paste and the marked serrano. Stir until the tomato paste coats everything evenly and becomes a little more fluid.
Stir in the cabbage and rice and season with a little salt and pepper. Mix well to combine all the flavors and coat all the rice until red. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is fully cooked and appears frothy, like real rice. It takes about 10 minutes to cook to this consistency. Taste and season more if necessary. At this point, the fajitas are probably ready to come out of the oven and rest.
For the plate, place the cabbage rice in the center of your plate and garnish with the chicken and vegetable mixture. Garnish with limes and cilantro, or any other fun Tex-Mex item. Enjoy!
