Ok, you are seriously going to love me for this one. Get ready to name your next child Kate. (You could even name your next dog Kate. I won’t be offended).
This is absolutely scrumptious and easy and efficient (you don’t hear that word describing a recipe often, do you?) Basically, you make a vinaigrette/marinade out of lime juice, olive oil, chipotles, honey, garlic, cumin and cilantro. One third marinates the chicken, one third dresses the bean and avocado salad (with red bell peppers and scallions), and the remaining third goes on the cooked chicken. It also illustrates a very brilliant idea, which is: marinating is all well and good but will never impart very much flavor, and what flavor it does give will only be on the surface of whatever you’re marinating. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to save some marinade (before it touches the raw protein, of course) to drizzle on at the very end. Cook’s Illustrated does this with their fajitas and it works beautifully.
The recipe calls for thighs or breasts but I do both to satisfy the dark/white meat divide in our home. I also serve it with flour tortillas and sour cream.
Grilled Spicy Lime Chicken with Black Beans and Avocado Salad is from the June, 2005 issue of Cook’s Country.
Cooks illustrated.