WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: In the early 20th century, Mexican ranch hands living in Texas made fajitas with grilled skirt steak (the word “fajita” is derived from the Spanish word faja, meaning strip or girdle). Today, fajitas are made with everything from steak to shrimp to chicken. But too often, the protein is buried under gobs of sour cream and shredded cheese. We wanted to figure out a way to make appealingly simple chicken fajitas (indoors, so we could prepare them year-round) without all the extraneous toppings—just the essential peppers and onions. We chose to work with quick-cooking chicken breasts, but knew we needed to punch up their sometimes-bland flavor. We mixed up an oil-based marinade that contained lime juice, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper, as well as salt (to help the meat stay moist) and sugar (to encourage quick browning). After marinating the chicken for 30 minutes, we browned the breasts on one side and then let them finish cooking in the gentle heat of the oven. For the vegetables, we took a cue from traditional rajas con crema, strips of pepper and onion cooked down with tangy Mexican crema. We broiled poblanos for nice charred flavor and removed most of their skin to avoid bitterness. We then sautéed onions with garlic, thyme, and oregano for complex, earthy flavors. Heavy cream made a rich, creamy base and didn’t curdle in the heat. We tossed the onion mixture with the poblanos and some lime juice for brightness. Serve with queso fresco and Spicy Pickled Radishes.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
CHICKEN
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded to ½-inch thickness
RAJAS CON CREMA
- 1 pound poblano chiles, stemmed, halved, and seeded
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, halved and sliced ¼ inch thick
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 12 (6-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
- ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges
INSTRUCTIONS:
- FOR THE CHICKEN: Whisk 3 tablespoons oil, lime juice, garlic, paprika, sugar, salt, cumin, pepper, and cayenne together in bowl. Add chicken, toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- FOR THE RAJAS CON CREMA: Meanwhile, adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Arrange poblanos skin side up on aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and broil until blackened and beginning to soften, 4 to 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through cooking.
- Transfer poblanos to bowl, cover, and let steam for 10 minutes. Remove majority of skin from poblanos (preserving some skin for flavor) and slice peppers into ¼-inch-thick strips.
- Adjust oven racks to middle and lowest positions and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat oil in 12-inch oven safe nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add onion and cook until just softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in cream and cook, stirring often, until reduced and cream lightly coats onion, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in lime juice, salt, pepper, and poblanos. Transfer vegetables to bowl, cover, and place on upper oven rack.
- Wipe out now-empty skillet. Remove chicken from marinade and wipe off excess. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add chicken and cook without moving until well charred on bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken, transfer skillet to lower oven rack, and cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to cutting board, let rest for 5 minutes, then slice crosswise into ¼-inch-thick strips; return chicken to skillet and toss with pan juices. Serve with warmed tortillas, rajas con crema, cilantro, and lime wedges.
