Acapulco Salad
To be honest, I don't know whether they eat a dish like this down in Acapulco or not. The fact is they could - the key ingredients like corn, coriander and avocado are eaten all over Mexico. This salad is double dressed - ingredients are tossed in a lime juice “vinaigrette” and then topped with a little sweet chilli mayo before serving.
Preparation time: 20 mins + Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 2
You need
400g (12 oz) boneless chicken thighs, skin removed
1 large ripe avocado
2 corn cobs, husks and silk removed
1 medium cucumber, sliced and diced (try Lebanese)
1 small bunch of coriander (cilantro), leaves removed, washed and roughly chopped
1 tsp paprika (mild or hot, your choice)
1 lime, juiced
Extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 to 2 tbsps sweet chilli sauce
sea salt
black pepper
To cook
Chicken thighs are of an uneven thickness so flatten each one out a little to make cooking easier. You can do this by slashing through the thicker parts of the meat with a sharp knife and then hammering them out with a meat tenderiser/mallet (if you don't have one give them a bash with a rolling pin).
Drizzle oil generously over the chicken and then sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and paprika.
Cook corn cobs in salted, boiling water for one minute, remove from pan to cool and then rub with olive oil.
To a heated BBQ or a griddle pan (medium heat), add the corn and the chicken. If grill space is short, cook the corn first, then remove and cook the chicken. The corn needs only a few minutes cooking to give it some color, turning as each side begins to brown. Cook the chicken until it is well browned and cooked through (approx. 6 to 7 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of your thighs!).
While the chicken is cooking, remove the kernels from the corn cobs (using a sharp knife) and make the dressings. Combine 2 tbsps of lime juice and 4 tbsps of olive oil in small bowl and season well with S & P. Combine, taste and adjust ingredients to your liking bearing in mind that some of the other salad ingredients will bring some sweetness to the dish which will offset the acidity of the lime. In a separate bowl, gently combine the mayonnaise and chilli sauce
In a large bowl combine the corn kernels, the coriander (cilantro), the cucumber, the lime dressing and toss. When the chicken is cooked slice it into strips and add it to the salad along with the sliced avocado, gently combine, taste and adjust seasonings. Divide the salad amongst the serving dishes. Top each serving with a generous dollop of chilli mayo. Offer extra mayo when serving and lime wedges if desired.
