Pollo Asado and Zucchini Burritos

In seeking to maintain a bit more diversity on this blog, as well as in my personal eating routine, this post is dedicated to the burrito. With a simple set up of a tortilla and various fillings, it is a fun communal dish once you have everything set up, and quite easy to do. Today I opted for both vegetarian and normal options, zucchini and pollo asado burritos.

Here’s almost everything required for dinner except  the chicken. Bell pepper, zucchini, onion, oranges, limes, lemons, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.

First a half cup of olive oil.

Then prep your citrus for juicing.

 

Almost a cup and a half from the oranges and lemons.

And five key limes should do it in place of a regular two limes.

Next season with salt.

And pepper. This is white pepper since that’s all we had at home. I’m not sure how much of a difference black pepper would have made.

Now add some smashed garlic gloves. Because garlic makes everything better.

It’s looking like something good will come of this, I’m sure of it.

Give it a good whipping with a fork. I’m sure a whisk would work better. Maybe.

Still, I had a feeling it was missing something. While pleasantly sour, it didn’t seem to have enough salt content.

I may have overstepped my bounds when I added some soy sauce. But actually I wish I had added even more. Or just more salt. More on that later.

Here are the peels tossed onto the chicken legs. Add the marinade and let it soak for at least two hours. I went for three, but I’d say overnight would be pretty great.

Once you’ve marinated the chicken and it’s getting time for dinner, set your oven to broil and we can start prepping the vegetables. Slice up the bell pepper as described in my earlier post.

And cut up the zucchini into coins.

A half inch in thickness is optimal.

If only these were real coins! Then I might have enough get a cup of gasoline.

Depending on the size of your pans you will probably have to do this in a few batches.  Medium heat, splash of oil, and let it go. The bell peppers took about seven minutes.

With a somewhat hotter pan, the zucchini only needed a minute a side, but on low heat they could probably stand the heat for a few minutes longer. But this is a good color to aim for.

Oh, almost forgot! Here are the chicken legs which have been put into the broiler for about 12 minutes. Turn them and baste them with your reserved marinade.

And another 18 minutes more. They could have actually been in there a while longer, but people were hungry. Still, a bit more of a grilled and blackened chicken would have probably kicked it up. Which is what the original recipe asked for coincidentally. I bet actually having the right kind of tray would have helped as well.

Here’s the spread. Some blended salsas, beans, the chicken, guacamole, sautéed veggies. Maybe some cheese wouldn’t have been bad. And in hindsight, some fresh salsa would  have complimented the chicken a bit better I think.

First, a try with this all vegetable burrito. Honestly, not bad at all. I could see eating this regularly and not missing meat terribly. I was somewhat amazed that without seasoning the zucchini tasted so savory.

But enough of that, time for the meat! Chicken was eaten, and it was good. Next time I’ll trust my instincts that if the marinade seemed as though it could use more seasoning, I’ll go for it. But all in all, it was a very successful dish, with a nice touch of acidity to make a very fresh dish that is fun to share and make at the table. Until next time!

Recipes modified and adapted from The Pioneer Woman and about.com.

Pollo Asado

• Half cup of Olive oil
• Juice and peels of 2 large oranges
• Juice of two lemons
• Juice of two Limes
• 4 garlic gloves, smashed
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
• half cup of Soy Sauce (optional/possibly sacrilegious)
• 15-16 whole Chicken Legs

Whisk together all the ingredients up except for the chicken legs. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Marinate chicken legs in the liquid for at least two hours in either a bowl or some plastic bags, along with the orange peels. Toss about during the marinating.

Set oven to a high broil. Once heated set the marinated chicken legs and onion chunks on a pan on the bottom rack.

Broil for 12-13 minutes, turn them over and baste with marinade. Broil for another 12-28 minutes until the chicken looks pleasantly cooked, with blackened spots desirable. Remove from oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving with warm tortillas, beans, salsa and other burrito things.

Sautéed vegetables for burritos:

• Zucchini, sliced
• Bell pepper, cut into strips

Heat up a non stick or well seasoned cast iron pan. Add a dollop of oil, and sauté the vegetables in batches. Serve with pollo asada, other meats or as a substitute for meat.