Let me tell you, it is pretty hard to find Mexican food in Switzerland. They have plenty of French and Italian cuisine, and we've even found a really good burger place in downtown Geneva (they have a great chicken sandwich that I always get, since I don't eat beef). The amount of Mexican food, though, leaves something to be desired.
That being said, I knew the next thing I cooked in the crowded little kitchen of my hotel would have to include lime, cilantro, and cumin. Enter: Mexican chicken lettuce wraps.
Of course, you could substitute tortillas for the lettuce, but I honestly don't think it's necessary; the salsa is very filling on its own and can easily brighten up green leaf lettuce. If you must have a tortilla, choose the smaller variety. A 4 inch corn tortilla has around 25 calories, while a large 8 inch tortilla has almost 100 (and maybe it's just me, but eating 3 small wraps seems much more filling than eating one bigger one, even though its about 25 calories less). I want to be clear here that I am generally not into calorie counting, especially if you aren't focusing on what nutrients you are getting and only limiting caloric intake. Rather than looking at just the calories of food, I encourage you to look at the whole picture, and examine what you are getting from the food for how many calories it "costs." For example, you should minimize the amount of refined carbohydrates you are taking in, because they have little nutritional benefit – and large flour tortillas can be a source of refined carbs. On the other hand, the avocado in this recipe is high in calories, but it provides the nutritional benefit of healthy fats and fiber that keep you full, vitamins including K, C, B5, and B6, and minerals like folate and potassium. Sometimes, if you are thinking only in terms of counting calories, you may forgo the healthy avocado, higher in fat and calories, in favor of a low fat flour tortilla. This reveals the problem in the counting calories approach – you just sacrificed a lot of nutritional benefit in the name of eating less. Also, you may be eating less with a swap to lower-calorie, lower-nutritional-benefit food, but this type of food won't keep you full. It won't give you energy, and won't make you feel good or healthy.
Like I've said, just enjoy balance and eat real food. Portion sizes are important, but so is the type of food you are putting in your body, of course!
This recipe is loaded with flavors and textures that meld perfectly. The first thing you will have to do is roast the cherry tomatoes. One of my favorite ways to change the depth of flavor in vegetables is by roasting, and luckily this is a very simple thing to do to almost any vegetable! Whenever you roast vegetables, you want your oven to be very hot – I always choose 450 degrees – so that the vegetables can get a nice color on them before cooking through. If the temperature is too low, you run the risk of cooking the vegetables into mush before they caramelize. Simply toss your vegetables in some olive oil and spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Since cooking tomatoes can get a little messy, I chose to cover the baking sheet in foil for easy clean up. Place the baking sheet on the top rack of the oven, so the top of the vegetables will brown while the heat of the pan will brown the other side.
The cooking time for roasting vegetables depends on the type of vegetable. In general, softer veggies like tomatoes, zucchini, and other squash take 20-30 minutes. Harder vegetables like sweet potatos, butternut squash, and carrots should be cubed or sliced thinly, and they will usually take 30-45 minutes. This, of course, varies between ovens, so you should always keep an eye on the roasted vegetables. You can turn them once about halfway through cooking time to avoid burning. Tomatoes have a high water content and more sugar than other vegetables, so some of this liquid may burn on the pan – don't worry. Just make sure to take out the pan when some of the tomatoes start blistering.
The chicken is simply dressed in lime, olive oil, garlic and cumin. When you are cooking the chicken, make sure you don't overcrowd the pan so that it has a chance to brown. You can stir the chicken around a bit so that it cooks evenly, but be careful not to stir too much – let it sit long enough to brown on one side, and then move it around to brown the other sides. This not only adds color but also flavor!
Mexican Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Serves 4
Serving size: 3 lettuce wraps
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 chicken breasts, cubed
2 teaspoons cumin, divided
Salt and pepper
2 limes
2 minced garlic cloves, divided
1 onion, divided
1 red pepper, chopped finely
1/2 English cucumber, chopped finely
1 cup yellow corn (canned or frozen and thawed are both fine)
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 bunch cilantro
1 head green leaf lettuce
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, and cover with one tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the tomato halves on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Place in the oven on the top rack, and roast for about 20 minutes, until tomatoes are blistering (but not burnt!). Set aside to cool.
2. Slice half the onion into half-moon shapes, and add to a skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.
3. While onion cooks, place cubed chicken in a Ziploc bag with 1 teaspoon cumin, salt and pepper, 1 garlic clove, minced, and juice of one lime. Massage the bag with your hands to make sure all the chicken is covered with the spices. After about 5 minutes, as the onion begins to brown, add the chicken to the skillet. Continue to cook on medium for about 6-10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat.
4. To make the corn salsa, add rest of the onion, chopped finely, red pepper, cucumber, corn, avocado, juice and zest of one lime, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 teaspoon cumin, salt and pepper. Add in cooled roasted tomatoes. Chop cilantro finely (some stems are okay, but remove the big grassy-tasting ones) and add it to the salsa. Stir the salsa together gently (try not to break up the avocado).
5. To assemble, place a few pieces of chicken and 2 tablespoons corn salsa on each lettuce leaf. Enjoy!
