I think if Frank had to eat one thing for the rest of his life, it would be tacos. Granted, he's more of a traditional, ground beef, lettuce, tomato and cheese, kind of a guy, over the past few years I've introduced the concept that there are more than just one kind of taco.
I've been doing a lot of experimenting with cooking with teas. I think using tea is one of those underrated ingredients that don't come to mind, but the purpose of them is powerful flavor that can be absorbed into whatever you're cooking. If you haven't seen a few of my recipes already (Early Grey Shortbread or Earl Grey Banana Muffins) then you know you can not only steep the flavor, but also just add the tea right into your mixture. So when I received a box of Choice Organic's Black Mango tea - I KNEW it would pair so well as an entree. What I love about cooking is that there are no rules - and while most of the recipes I've seen using tea are for desserts, cakes or muffins, who's to say I can't incorporate this tea as a marinade for chicken (shrimp!) So I got to my kitchen, and what I came up with is pretty awesome.
I start with chicken tenderloins. I always prefer using smaller pieces of meat when using a marinade. I want that yummy sauce on as much of that chicken as possible. Smaller pieces = better coverage. In a glass bowl, add in olive oil, orange juice (I used Natalie's Blood Orange, but regular would be fine) and salt and pepper. I then cup open three of the tea bags and add to the mixture. Whisk it thoroughly and add in your chicken. General rule of thumb: Let meat marinate for a good hour if you can. But it can sit overnight too. I usually will put together marinades before I leave for work in the morning or at my lunch break so that by the time I get home for dinner its been a good couple of hours. Place in the fridge and now we can get started on the slaw.
To bring out the flavor of the tea, I of course wanted to use fresh mango. Dice up one mango and add to a bowl with one cup of red cabbage slaw. I then add in juice from half of one lime, 2-3 tablespoons of chopped cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon of minced ginger and then salt and pepper to taste. Give this a good stir, cover and place into the fridge as well until you're ready to baseless.
When you go to cook the chicken, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. If you haven't seen my post on How to Cook Chicken Perfect Every Time - see how I do so here. Bring a little EVOO to temp over medium/high heat. Brown each side of the chicken for about 2-3 minutes and place pan into the oven. Should be cooked in about 10 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breasts. This chicken would also be so incredibly good on its own, with the slightly sweet taste of the juice and the flavor of the tea shining through, it would pair nicely on a salad, or use this marinade on a while chicken if you wanted to roast it like my Orange Roasted Chicken.
Remove from oven, slice and assemble. I like using corn or small flour tortillas, chicken then the slaw with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a little more cilantro. When all's said and done, a little bit of prep time means that dinner can be ready in under 15 minutes.
* This post was sponsored by my dear friends at Choice Organic Tea. xx Thanks guys!
Black Mango Tea Chicken Tacos with Lime Mango Slaw (GF/DF)
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes (let marinate for at least one hour)
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb chicken tenderloins
Marinade:
3 bags of Choice Organic's Black Mango Tea
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice (I used Natalie's Blood Orange)
Slaw:
1 cup red cabbage slaw
1 diced mango
Juice of half a lime
2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Mix together contents of tea bags and other marinade ingredients in a glass bowl. Add in chicken and let marinate for at least 1 hour (the longer the better)
Dice up one mango and add to another bowl with remaining slaw ingredients. Stir, cover and place in fridge until use.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a cast iron pan over medium/high heat with 1 tablespoon of EVOO, sear chicken 2-3 minutes per side. Turn off heat and place into oven and bake for 10 minutes until done.
Slice chicken and assemble tacos on tortillas, with slaw, an extra squeeze of lime juice and added cilantro.
xx
Rita