Dried Chile and Apricot Marinated Chicken

This dish is primarily based on a marinade I made consisting of dried guajillo and ancho chiles along with dried apricots and canela.  A warm and earthy version  which can be served with various sides.

In this particular version I used this two marinade two chicken breasts for dinner, but the marinade can be on whole cut up chicken or even as a base in a braise.

After roasting in the oven the chicken formed a very nice crust and the flavors had really concentrated while keeping the chicken moist.

Dried Chile and Apricot Marinated Chicken
Cooking time: 1 hour
Preparation time: 1/2 hour

Ingredients

• 2 guajillo chiles
• 2 ancho chiles
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 2 cups water, set to boil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup modelo (or any mexican lager)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp mexican oregano
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/2 cinnamon stick (canela)
• salt and pepper
• chicken

Instructions

To prepare the chiles and apricots for the marinade: Set a couple of cups of water to boil as this will be used to rehydrate these ingredients. Remove the stems from the guajillo and ancho chiles and using a knife cut an opening along the sides of each to get to and remove the seeds. Roughly chop the chiles along with the apricots and place in a bowl. Here you will add the boiling water and cover using a smaller boil to keep the chiles sumberged. let these soak for 10 minutes to soften them up and drain.

1.)set oven to 400 F

2.) Once the chiles and apricots are ready, add them to a blender along with all the additional ingredients (except for the chicken) and puree until you get a loose paste consistency. some additional liquid can be added to get the blender going, keeping in mind not to let the consistency get too loose.

3.) In a large bowl add the pieces of chicken along with the marinade and using your hands mix together making sure to rub all the surfaces of the chicken in the marinade. Additional can be added under the skin of chicken as well. Let this sit for at least 15 minutes but as with all marinades it will have more flavor the longer it sits.

4.) Place the chicken in a roasting dish along with 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of additional beer at the bottom and roast in the oven for an hour, taking it out halfway to baste the chicken.

Butternut Squash Puree

A quick and easy dish for the fall, butternut squash is one of my favorite things about the season.  I add a bit of spice with the addition of chicken along with a chicken I marinated in dried guajillo and ancho chiles.

Here I served the puree with some Dried Chile and Apricot Marinated Chicken, Roasted Poblano Peppers, cotija cheese and cilantro.

Butternut Squash Puree
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Category: Soup
Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

• 1 medium to large butternut squash
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 Serrano chile, sliced (optional)
• 1/4 cup half and half ( can use milk)
• 1/2 cup water or chicken broth
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1.) cut the squash into 8 pieces making sure to scoop out the seeds.
2.) lay skin side down in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil.
3.) sprinkle on the remaining ingredients evenly over the pieces of squash.
4.) cover with aluminum and roast for 30-45 minutes until the squash is soft.
5.) in a pot, sautee onion and garlic in olive oil or butter until translucent.
6.) scoop the squash out of the skin and add to the pot. here I added the half and half and some broth before using a hand blender to puree.
serve as is or with toppings, here I topped it with Dried Chile and Apricot Marinated Chicken, roasted poblanos, cotija cheese, and cilantro.