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Margarita Chicken Fajitas with Mushrooms and Spinach

Source of Recipe

From "Cravings" by Chrissy Teigen


Recipe Introduction

"Seeing a sizzling hot plate of fajitas make their way down the aisle of a restaurant called Azteca is one of my earliest memories. The eyes of the person who ordered them would always light up, as everyone else's eyes burned from both the smoke and the regret from not ordering fajitas. That sound! That sizzle. That smell of caramelizing onions and peppers. That meat you can just feel is overcooking. I love everything about the damn thing. So what makes these 'margarita' fajitas? The lime. The salt. The tequila. Okay, so they're more like body-shot fajitas, but just roll with me here. Wait, there is orange juice! Is that in a margarita? I'm usually pretty tanked off margaritas when I make them, so I don't remember."

List of Ingredients

For the chicken:
â—¦ ¼ cup olive oil
â—¦ Grated zest of 1 lime
â—¦ ¼ cup fresh lime juice
â—¦ ¼ cup tequila
â—¦ 3 tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo)
â—¦ 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
â—¦ 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
â—¦ 1 teaspoon sugar
â—¦ 2 teaspoons kosher salt
â—¦ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
â—¦ 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

For the fajitas:
â—¦ 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
â—¦ 1 large red onion, sliced
â—¦ 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
â—¦ 3 cups sliced mushrooms
â—¦ 4 cups (packed) baby spinach
â—¦ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 8 medium (6-inch) flour tortillas

â—¦ 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
â—¦ Sliced fresh or pickled jalapeño cheese, for garnish
â—¦ Chopped tomatoes, for garnish


Recipe

Make the chicken: In a big bowl, combine the olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, tequila, adobo sauce, orange juice, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken, toss to coat, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200° F. Lift the chicken out of the marinade, wipe off any excess, and keep 1 cup of the marinade. In an extra-large heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering-hot. Sear the chicken, working in batches if it doesn't all fit comfortably, until the underside is browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until the other side is browned, about 5 minutes longer. Cut into the chicken; if there's any pink left inside, turn the heat down to medium and cook for another few minutes to finish. Remove from the heat, transfer to an ovenproof bowl, cover with foil, and keep warm in the oven. Do not clean the skillet.

Make the fajitas: Heat the oil in the same skillet you used to cook the chicken over medium heat. Add the red onion and stir to scrape up the browned chicken bits. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl, and cover with foil to keep warm. Add the reserved marinade to the skillet and bring to a boil. Remove the chicken from the oven and shred into bite-size pieces; taste one and season with more salt if necessary.

Set a dry skillet over medium-high heat and warm the tortillas in it, one by one, about 15 seconds per side. Stack the tortillas to keep them warm.

Set the tortillas out with the bowls of chicken and onion mixture. Drizzle some of the boiled marinade on the chicken to keep it moist. Set out more bowls with the pepper jack cheese, jalapeños, and tomatoes and let people build their own fajitas.

Serves 4 to 6