Of all world cuisines, I think I have the most respect for the food of Mexico. Now, granted, I acknowledge that there is so much I don’t know about many world cuisines (even regional cuisines of America), and so much I want to know and learn, but there is something about Mexican cuisine I find amazing.
My friend and I were discussing this the other day, and he said it best: “Yeah lots of the food we make is super simple and easy but really easy to **** up. We got them layers of flavors with 4 ingredients.”
And that is absolutely true – we think of Mexican cuisine as being simple and almost straightforward (ie, spicy), when in reality, although simple in its use of minimal ingredients, the flavor is anything but. When done right, the flavors are deep and nuanced and spectacular.
It takes years of learning, cooking, and traveling to understand the methodology and techniques that make Mexican cuisine great. I have none of those things (by any means), so while this recipe is not entirely authentic, I am pretty proud of how well these flavors pulled together to create the dish. And, in addition to this recipe only needing a sheet pan and an InstaPot/Slow Cooker, the recipe can easily be batch-cooked and eaten through the week!
There are two pieces of this recipe that can be daunting – the achiote marinade, and the salsa. If you don’t want to make your own, you can find achiote paste at Hispanic grocery stores, or online (and, its super affordable – last time I checked 1 package was around $4 on Amazon). You can also use pre-made salsa; it works just as well here.
Enjoy!
InstaPot Achiote Chicken with Easy Refried Beans, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Broccolini
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 3 breasts chicken boneless and skinless
- 3 whole cloves
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup annatto seeds
- 1 tsp coriander ground
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 2 tap oregano dried
- 1 tap black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup vinegar (white or cider)
For Salsa
- 9 tomatillos medium
- 4 pasilla chiles dried
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 orange, juice of
- salt, to taste
- 1/4 cup water
For Potatoes
- 6 sweet potatoes small to medium
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
For the Beans
- 1 can refried beans (or, use 1 can pinto beans)
- 15-22 oz water
- 1/2 onion yellow
- 1 bunch red chard ribs removed and chopped finely
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- First, make the achiote paste (if making your own. If using store-bought, skip this step). Place all ingredients into food processor and blend until a paste.
- Rub achiote paste on chicken breasts and marinate for 15 minutes.
- Place marinated chicken breasts into InstaPot (or slow-cooker). Set to "meat" setting, and cook. If using InstaPot, let come to a natural release of pressure.
- Once pressure is released, open InstaPot and remove chicken. Shred with forks, and pour juice over chicken. Set aside.
- Once chicken is cooking, in a small bowl mix the olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and cumin. Slice sweet potatoes and broccolini into desired shapes, and brush with olive oil mixture. Place sweet potatoes onto a lined sheet pan, and cook at 375 degrees. Halfway through cooking, add the broccolini. When all are cooked, remove from oven and salt to taste.
- Make the salsa (if using homemade). Peel 9 tomatillos, quarter, and put in boiling water for 15 minutes, so that the sticky residue on the tomatillos is removed. While tomatillos are soaking, cut the stems from the pasilla chiles, and remove the seeds. Then, in separate container, soak the chiles in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Then, place tomatillos onto sheet pan and broil until skins are slightly charred. Place chiles, tomatillos, garlic, salt and water in blender and blend until smooth. Add orange juice, and season with additional salt if needed.
- If making beans, cut 1/2 onion into slices, and remove ribs from 1 bunch chard. Slice thin. Saute onion in pan on medium heat until translucent, add chard. Once chard is wilted, add can of refried beans (you can also use regular pinto beans), and water, and cook until water is reduced and ingredients are combined.
- Assemble the dish: beans, sweet potato, and chicken. Top with salsa as desired.
