Chicken with Chili Sauce and Achiote Rice

"Chicken thighs are combined with dried mulato or ancho peppers, scallions, chorizo sausage, and Mexican oregano and garnished with chayote, sometimes called squash pears or mirliton. The thighs are served on a bed of rice mixed with onions sautéed in some of the chicken fat and flavored with achiote (also called annatto) paste." --Jacques Pépin

Recipe: Chicken with Chili Sauce and Achiote Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:
• 3 dried mulato or ancho chili peppers
• 2 chayote (about 12 ounces each)
• 4 chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup diced (1/2-inch) chorizo sausage (Mexican, Spanish, or domestic)
• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1 1/4 cup diced (1-inch) tomatoes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• Salt
• Achiote Rice (recipe follows)

Instructions:
1. Soak the chili peppers in water to cover for about 1 1/2 hours.
2. Remove the chilies from the soaking liquid; reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid. Break the peppers open, discard the stems and seeds, and chop the peppers very coarsely. (You should haveabout 3/4 cup.)
3. Peel the chayote, cut it in half, and remove and discard the seeds. Cut each chayote half into 4 wedges.
4. Arrange the chicken thighs skin side down in a large nonstick skillet and cook, partially covered, over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan; reserve the 2 tablespoons fat for the rice.
5. Turn the chicken so the browned skin side is up, scatter the onion, scallions, chorizo, and garlic around the chicken, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the oregano, tomatoes, wine, chopped chilies, reserved soaking liquid, and chayote. Season with salt to taste, cover, and boil gently for 10 minutes.
6. Serve the chicken with the rice on the side, or serve the rice as a base under the chicken, placing a chicken thigh on top of each portion of rice, and arrange the chayote wedges around the chicken. Spoon on the sauce and serve.

Achiote Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:
• 1 cup very coarsely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chicken fat (reserved from Chicken with Chili Sauce)
• 2 teaspoons achiote (annatto) paste
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup short-grain white rice (or another rice of your choosing)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
1. Cook the onion in the chicken fat in a saucepan over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Mix the achiote paste well with the water to dissolve, then add to the onion, along with the rice and salt, and stir well.
3. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and cook gently for 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
4. Serve.

Recipes from Heart & Soul in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin. Copyright © 2015 by Jacques Pépin. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.