Hello! It’s been a while. I wasn’t even sure I’d remember how to do this. Or if I’d bother as no one seems to read blogs anymore. Personally, I like a website that I can search rather than having to scroll through hundreds of videos to find the one I want. 

It’s also been a while because I’ve been working on changing my diet. More veg and wholegrains and less of the bacon and cheese. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start preaching about healthy eating, there are plenty of others doing that. I still like a tasty treat every now and then. And this recipe has plenty of cheese!

Again there is nothing authentically Mexican about this but the flavours are inspired by Mexican cuisine.

Useful tips & links:

• I’ve been following A Mexican Cook by Lily Ramirez-Foran for a long time. Her blog is worth checking out for authentic Mexican Recipes.
• I’ve shredded the chicken here because I like to mix it into the rice and sauce. It keeps the chicken moist and I also like to eat it like a dip by scooping it up with tortilla chips. If you want to keep the chicken in larger pieces, cook it as per the instructions in my One Pot Chicken with Creamy Pasta.
• You can use chicken thighs if you are worried about the chicken drying out.
• I’ve used tins of black beans and sweetcorn. Use what ever beans you like such as kidney beans, but if they are dried they will need to be cooked first. Frozen beans or sweetcorn are good to use too.
• You can easily make this dish vegetarian by replacing the chicken with more beans and a variety of vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes.
• This can be baked in the oven but I prefer to cook it on the hob.
• This freezes really well so you have a simple dinner ready to go when short on time. It just needs a little water to let it down a bit while reheating.
• Serve as it is or with tortilla chips, sliced avocado, creme fraiche, guacamole, pico de gallo or pickled jalapenos.

One Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken and Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
• Approx. 500g or 3 chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 1½ teaspoons of dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
• Salt and pepper
• The juice of 1 lime
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of chipotle chilli paste
• 250g long grain rice
• 500ml of hot chicken stock
• 500ml of passata or tinned tomatoes
• 400g tin of black beans, drained
• 198g tin of sweetcorn, drained
• Grated cheddar and mozzarella to serve

Method:

• Mix together the spices, add half of them to a good squeeze of lime juice and a little salt and pepper, and then coat the chicken with this spice mixture.
• Heat the oil in a heavy wide pan over a medium heat. Cook the spiced chicken gently until just cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
• Add the diced onion and pepper to the spiced chicken oil in the pan, adding a little more oil if needed. Fry until soft and while they are cooking, use 2 forks to pull and shred the cooked chicken into thin pieces.
• Add the remaining spice mixture, garlic and chipotle chilli paste to the pan and stir through for a few minutes to cook them off.
• Stir in the rice and mix thoroughly to make sure all of the grains are coated in the spice mix.
• Add the hot stock, passata, black beans and sweetcorn. Bring to a gentle boil and then reduce to a simmer.
• Cover the pot and allow it to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the rice doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan.
• Add the chicken into the pan and simmer covered for another 10 minutes. Check it at this point to see if the rice is cooked through. Give it a little more time if needed and add water to the pan if it looks like it is drying out.
• Once you are happy that the rice is cooked, taste for seasoning and add more spices as needed. I like to stir through the rest of the lime juice now or squeeze it over after serving.
• Sprinkle over the grated cheese, I’m not giving a measurement here, you use as much as you like. Put the dish under the grill or broiler to melt the cheese into the dish.
• Serve with some creme fraiche or sour cream, chopped coriander and some avocado. I like pickled jalapenos to add a bit more spice. Tortilla chips on the side are great for scooping it all up in one bite.