Mexi Bowls

England has some amazing food. It really does. You can get pretty much anything. EXCEPT good mexican food. Oh, mexi, how I miss you. And, I'm not the only one:

"...I love that you can find the whole world in this one city (EXCEPT FOR DECENT MEXICAN FOOD MY GOD IS THAT SO HARD I MEAN JESUS CHRIST GET A GRIP LONDON)."

Really. It's hard to understand. Mexi is so easy: Refried beans + cheese + rice + lettuce + sour cream + tomatoes + guacamole. Bam. Burrito. Done. 

That's why, in a moment of mexi-deprivation, I came up with this:

Mexi Bowls (serves 4)

Ingredients:

For the rice:

olive oil

1 medium red onion, chopped

5 or 6 pickled hot peppers (like these), chopped and stems discarded
1 red hot chili pepper (optional)

2 cups of long grain rice

1 teaspoon chili powder

4 cups of chicken stock

1/2 400g./16oz. can of plum tomatoes

1/2 400g./16oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small can (340g./12oz.) of sweet corn niblets (like this), drained

Tabasco sauce, to taste

For the chicken (optional):

1 package of mini chicken breast fillets (or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips)

olive oil

pinch or two of salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper

1 teaspoon honey

To assemble:

1 400g./16oz. can of refried beans

sour cream (or fat free plain yogurt)
shredded sharp cheddar cheese

4 or 5 handfuls of your favourite lettuce greens

2 orange or yellow bell peppers, seeded and chopped
salt

limes

Tabasco sauce

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.

Put the chicken in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, crushed chili pepper, and honey. Set aside. Note: It is important for the chicken to be at room temperature when you cook it, so take it out of the fridge/freezer ahead of time. Also, this recipe tastes great with or without the chicken. I made it without chicken, this time.

Add a bit of olive oil and the onion to a big cast iron pot with a lid/dutch oven. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally. When the onions start to brown, stir in the pickled pepper, the hot chili pepper, the rice, and the chili powder. Keep stirring until everything is combined and the rice starts to turn clear on the edges (about 1 minute). Add a cup of the chicken stock and deglaze the pot, using a wooden spoon to scrape up all of the yummy brown bits.

Then, stir in the rest of the chicken stock, the tomatoes, the black beans, and the corn. Use your spoon to break up the tomatoes. Add the Tabasco sauce. I usually add about 6 or 7 squirts, because I like my rice a bit spicy.

Bring to a boil. Then, put the lid on and put the whole thing in the oven. After about 25 minutes, pull it out, and stir to re-combine the ingredients. Taste the rice to make sure it's cooked. If so, put the lid back on and let it sit for a couple of minutes.

While the rice is cooking, cook the chicken: Put a grill pan over high heat. When the pan is very hot, put your chicken pieces in. I usually cover it with a lid — which doesn't actually fit, as my lids are round but my grill pan is square — at this point, to help it cook and so that it makes less of a splatter-y mess on my stove-top. 

When the chicken pieces have turned white about half way up the side of each piece (still pink on top), flip them over. Cook for another couple of minutes. Then, turn the heat off. You want to make sure not to over-cook them. If you need to, take one piece out and slice into the thick part to make sure it's white  and cooked all the way through.

Then, remove the chicken from the pan and slice into smaller, bite-sized pieces.

To assemble, grab 4 big bowls (I like to use pasta or soup bowls). Spread a spoonful or two of refried beans on the bottom of each bowl. Then, spread sour cream/yogurt on top and sprinkle with cheese. Next, add 3 or 4 big spoonfuls of mexi rice. Tear a handful or so of lettuce over each bowl, and sprinkle with orange bell pepper. Then, divide the chicken (if you're using it) between the bowls, sprinkle with salt, and squeeze 1/2 a lime over each one. 

Give everyone a big spoon and serve with Tabasco, for those who want a bit more kick. 

Finally, if you want to go all-out crazy, mix up a batch of margaritas (these, for example). Margaritas + mexi? Always a winner.

P.S. Thank you, Jen, for that quote. It made me laugh. And, I think it came from here.

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