Sometimes you have to give advertising agencies a little golf clap. While they devote their days to making content that leaves us half-demented, they do get their job done, achieving their goal of successfully branding a product to the point where we can’t walk past an item on the supermarket shelves without humming its jingle or having the tagline drift through our brains.
So it is with Old El Paso, whose little cute cheering families and mariachi tunes play around in my mind every time I walk past their products. Which is pretty crazy, since I don’t even buy them. I think other brands do better tortillas and even my jalapeños are now bought from a brand at the greengrocer. Still, I couldn’t help but imagine the little Mexican family gathered together, giving me a cheer as I presented this dinner the other night.
My kids weren’t quite as jubilant as their TV counterparts, but they devoured these completely simple-to-make wraps. And as Jason Derulo will testify is possible, the trumpets of celebration played in my head, which is close enough.
Adults can pop in jalapenos and fresh herbs.
One dish, one bowl, Mexican chicken wraps
Marinade
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp mild paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp BBQ sauce (optional, but recommended!)
800g chicken thigh fillets
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1/2 red capsicum, cut into thick slices
Salsa
310g can corn kernels, drained
1 roma tomato, finely diced
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1/2 red capsicum, finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Coriander (optional – my kids hate it, so I just add it to mine after I’ve served them)
To serve (you choose what will suit your household): wraps, avocado, jalapeños, sour cream, parsley or coriander
If you remember, pop the chicken in the marinade in the morning and let it spend all day in the fridge getting extra tasty.
Combine the oil and spices in a glass dish or ceramic bowl. Remove the excess fat from the chicken, cut into a couple of pieces and smother it in the spice rub.
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Place the chicken into your oven tray (line with foil or baking paper to help with the clean up). Toss over the onion wedges.
Bake for 20 minutes. Use tongs to turn the pieces over. Mix through the capsicum. Return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (thigh meat stays a bit pink, but also doesn’t dry out, so if you’re not entirely sure if it’s cooked, just chuck it back in for another 5-10 minutes).
Meanwhile make your salsa: Combine everything in a bowl. Done. It’s a tough recipe. See how you go.
The big reveal:
Serve the chicken sliced up on wraps, topped with the roasted onions, capsicum, salsa and your choice of avocado, jalapeños & sour cream.
Serves 2 adults and 3-4 kids
Like this recipe? Check out my cookbooks to find a bunch more meals that your family will love.
