Chicken Cotija Recipes

MEXICAN STREET CORN BLACK BEAN CHICKEN BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Add chicken breasts to the medium casserole dish. Note: Make sure to use thinly sliced chicken breasts. If you bought large chicken breasts, you can slice each large chicken breast in half horizontally to make two thin chicken breasts.
• Sprinkle the chicken with salt and chili powder.
• Top the chicken with corn kernels and black beans.
• Sprinkle with more chili powder. Top with crumbled Cotija cheese.
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through. Remove from heat. Top with chopped green onions.

CHICKEN COTIJA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a glass baking dish with vegetable cooking spray.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat; brown chicken on both sides. Place chicken in prepared baking dish. Mix together the tomato sauce and taco seasoning in a small bowl. Pour over chicken breasts. Sprinkle cheeses evenly over top.
• Bake in preheated oven until chicken has fully cooked and cheese has browned, 20 to 30 minutes.

CUMIN CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH COTIJA AND MANGO-GARLIC SAUCE WITH GREEN ONION PESTO MASHED POTATOES

Steps:

• Whisk together the whole cumin, lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, honey, and pepper in a medium baking dish. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat a large ovenproof saute pan over medium high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and wipe off any excess. Combine the ground cumin, cotija, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Dust the chicken on the skin side with the mixture.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Place the chicken, skin side down, in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn over and place in the oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until just cooked through.
• Serve drizzled with the Mango Garlic Sauce and with the Green Onion Pesto Mashed Potatoes.
• Combine chicken stock, peppercorns, and garlic in a medium saucepan and cook until reduced to 3 cups. Strain into a bowl.
• Place both vinegars in a separate medium saucepan and cook until reduced by 1/2. Add the sugar and mango puree, and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon thickly.
• Add the reduced chicken stock and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until soft, about 25 to 30 minutes. Drain well and run through a food mill into a large bowl. Stir in the butter and cream and mix until combined. Swirl in the Green Onion Pesto and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Combine pumpkin seeds, garlic, spinach, and cilantro in food processor and process until smooth. Add green onions and lime juice, and process until smooth.
• With the motor running, slowly add the oil. Add the Parmesan, honey, salt, and pepper, and pulse several times until combined.

EASY LIME GARLIC CHICKEN TACOS WITH LIME CREMA

Steps:

• In a small bowl whisk together sour cream or crema, lime juice, zest, sea salt and pepper, set aside
• Prep tomatoes and avocado, set aside. Crumble Cotija cheese.
• Juice lemon and two limes, whisk with jalapeno and garlic, set aside
• Quarter remaining limes for garnish
• Slice chicken
• Place a pan on medium heat, add olive oil. When oil is hot add chicken and cook, gently stirring here and there until heated through
• While chicken cooks, heat tortillas on other cooktop burners, using tongs to turn
• When chicken is heated through, toss with prepared lemon/lime juice and herbs, season with sea salt and pepper
• Fill tortillas with chicken, avocado, tomato, cotija cheese, garnish with crema and cilantro and serve!

FRIED ORGANIC CHICKEN TAMALES WITH RED CHILE AND COTIJA

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place chicken on a half-sheet tray. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper, then place skin-side up. Roast until cooked through, about 40 minutes. Let cool. Pull off skin and remove meat from bone. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the masa: Put masa in a bowl and add duck fat, plus a fat pinch each of salt and pepper. Mix until integrated. Add 1/2 cup water to help make a smooth, pliable mass, which will be easy to spread. Set aside.
• For the chile verde: Place tomatillos, garlic, cilantro, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper in a medium saucepot and add enough water to cover. Place pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until tomatillos are soft and color deepens, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Pull ingredients from water and place in a blender. (Some liquid is fine.) Blend until smooth and season to taste.
• Return chile verde to the same saucepan and add the pulled chicken. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• For the fried chicken tamale: Place a corn husk in the palm of your hand. It should just cover your hand; trim down if necessary so not overly large. Place a wooden kitchen spoonful of masa (approximately 6 tablespoons) in center of husk. Smooth masa to the edges of the husk using back of spoon. Place 4 tablespoons chicken chile verde mixture in middle of masa. Put tamale on a counter and fold in both long sides, then tuck in bottom and top of husk to form a neat package. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Using a steam pot or hotel pan with perforated insert, fill pot with water to bottom of perforated insert. Place a layer of tamales in the insert, being careful not to crowd or stack them. Cover pot with a lid or aluminum foil. Allow the pan to steam over medium-high heat and cook tamales for about 35 minutes. Let tamales cool.
• Warm Red Chile Sauce in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Preheat duck fat in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Remove husk from a tamale. Place in fryer basket and cook until exterior of tamale is crispy, about 3 minutes. Smear 1 ounce Red Chile Sauce on bottom of a plate. Place tamale in center and garnish with Cotija. Serve hot. Repeat with remaining tamales.
• Remove stems from chile pods and shake out seeds. Place chiles in a medium saucepan along with garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Strain and discard excess water to help remove bitterness. Place remaining contents in a blender and puree until smooth.

MEXICAN STREET CORN SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high. You can also use a grill pan. Lightly grease the grill grates with oil.
• Season the corn and the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
• Transfer corn and chicken to the grill; cover and cook for 13 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and corn is lightly charred, turning chicken and corn once halfway through cooking.
• Remove cooked chicken and corn from grill and let chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting it into strips.
• In the meantime, cut the kernels from the cobs and place them in a bowl. To the kernels, add 2 tablespoons lime juice, minced garlic, mayonnaise, Mexican cream or yogurt, and ancho chili powder; mix and stir until well combined. Set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl make the dressing by combining olive oil, lime juice, honey, salt, and pepper; whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
• Place the mixed salad greens and cherry tomatoes in a large salad bowl and toss with the dressing.
• Top the salad with the corn mixture, chicken slices, and cotija cheese.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve.