Mexican Rice with Chicken, Black Beans & Quinoa

Posted by thesensitivefoodie on August 14, 2013 in Chicken Dishes, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free | 3 Comments

How about some super healthy mexican? Completely guilt free… not a trace of cheese or sour cream in sight!

While this recipe may not be quite authentic, it’s a bit of a concoction I came up with, adding a bit of this and that until it came together, but boy did it taste good! I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to chilli, so I made this quite mild, but the addition of jalapeno’s for the hot head hubby, did the trick nicely. I made my own pickled jalapeno’s (click here for the recipe). I’ve been told that they were good enough to stand on their own, so I gave them their own post. I was too chicken to try them!

Suitable for: Gluten, dairy, egg, soy & nut free. For vegetarian option, it’s just as good without the chicken, and use vegetable stock.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1.5 cups long grain rice
• 1/3 cup red quinoa
• 1.5 cups passatta (pureed tomato sauce)
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1.5 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1-2 teaspoons ground chilli
• 2 onions, diced
• 600g chicken thighs, cut into cubes approx. 1 inch x 1 inch
• 1 red pepper or capsicum, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 400g can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons coriander, plus extra for sprinkling when serving
• Diced tomato for sprinkling when serving
• Sliced pickled jalapeno’s for some extra heat if you like it hot (click here for the recipe to make your own)
• 2 limes, quartered

Method

1. In a large frypan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil over a medium heat. Brown chicken pieces, and then remove from frypan.

2. Add another teaspoon, lower temperature to a med/low heat. Then add onions and cook until softened. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the passatta, chicken stock, rice, quinoa, cumin & chilli powder and stir to combine. Add the chicken pieces, then bring mixture to a low simmer, stirring regularly.

3. Simmer for 20 – 25 mins until almost all liquid absorbed. Then add the black beans & peppers/capsicum, Stir through mixture. Let simmer for 5-10 mins until peppers softened. Stir through the fresh coriander.

4. To serve, top each serving with chopped tomato, coriander, a squeeze of fresh lime, and sliced jalapeno’s if having.

I hope you enjoyed this post, please feel free to leave me a message, or share with your friends 🙂