Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa

One thing I love about dinner time during the summer is all the fresh ingredients that are available. Everything seems to POP with flavor and a lot of times will require little to no cooking. That's the case with this meal. We absolutely loved it. My favorite part was actually the mango salsa, I thought it really made the dish. This was the first time I had added mangoes to a fresh salsa and thought it worked beautifully. You still get that tomato-garlicky-cilantro taste with a bite of sweetness from the mango here and there. It went perfectly with the seasoned chicken and the creamy avocados on top.

I like to use corn tortillas when I make tacos, but they can be a bit finicky sometimes and break apart, which can be frustrating. Usually, I pour a shallow amount of oil in a small fry pan and fry them up for about 30 seconds a side, then drain on a paper towel. If you don't want to use corn tortillas, feel free to substitute flour tortillas.

Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa
For the marinade:
juice of 2 limes
2-4 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
dash chili powder
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
dash of salt and pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips

For the tacos:
8 corn tortillas
oil, for frying (optional)
avocado, thinly sliced
shredded romaine lettuce

For the Mango Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1-2 medium tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (use a whole jalapeno if you like more spice)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 small red onion,very thinly sliced or finely diced
2 tablespoons honey
juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste


Prepare marinade by adding all the ingredients, except the chicken, into a zip-top bag. Shake until well-combined. Add chicken and seal bag, then shake until chicken is well-coated. Place bag on a plate and let marinade on the counter for 30-60 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare salsa by chopping the mangoes, tomatoes, jicama and jalapeno. Whisk together the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the salsa. Gently fold until evenly mixed. Let sit at room temperature.

Prepare corn tortillas by frying them, if desired. Fry tortillas, one at a time, in a small frying pan with a little oil, about 30 seconds a side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Alternately you can use them un-fried or use flour tortillas.

To cook chicken, either preheat an outdoor grill or an indoor grill pan. Cook chicken until no longer pink inside; about 5 minutes.

To assemble tacos, layer the shredded lettuce on the bottom of a tortilla, then add the chicken, mango salsa and top with thinly sliced avocado.


SOURCE:Adapted from myrecipes.com