Southwest Chicken Salad Recipe

Measure and prep all ingredients.

Soak the dry chiles. In a bowl, place the hot water, ancho pepper and costeño chile. Let the chiles steep for 20 minutes.

While the dry chiles soak, chop the chipotle pepper in adobo, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and red onion into small dice. Roughly chop the leaves and stems of the cilantro. 

Coat the chicken thighs with oil, cumin, paprika, cocoa powder, salt and pepper. And let the chicken thighs marinate for 20 minutes. 

Finely chop the rehydrated chiles and reserve the chili water.

In a bowl, combine the chopped rehydrated chiles, chipotle pepper, bell peppers and onions.

Rub the ears of corn with the softened butter and season with salt and pepper. 

Preheat the grill or a cast iron skillet on medium heat. When there are wisps of smoke, add the corn and cook, turning regularly, until well browned. Remove the corn from the grill or cast iron skillet.

Place the chicken skin side down on the grill or the cast iron skillet. Cook for 5 minutes, until a brown crust forms. Check periodically to see if the skin is burning and lower to heat if necessary.

Flip the chicken over. If cooking in the cast iron skillet, add the chopped peppers and onions to the skillet with half of the reserved chili water. Lower the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. If using the grill, wrap the chopped peppers and onions loosely in aluminum foil and cook alongside the chicken for 20-25 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, remove the corn kernels from the ears of corn and place them in a bowl.

When the chicken is done cooking, remove the chicken and the vegetables and let cool. Debone the chicken thighs and dice them into small pieces. 

Add the diced chicken, the cooled vegetables, chopped cilantro and lime juice. Add a little chili water until the chicken salad is moist. Add the diced avocado to the bowl and fold until combined.

Plate the southwest chicken salad. Toast the tortillas in a skillet or oven until crunchy and place them on a plate. Place the chicken salad on top of the tortillas. Serve the chicken salad with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream and queso blanco. Enjoy!