Some Jerk (Chicken)

As you may remember, we had dinner with Jason’s parents last weekend to celebrate his dad’s birthday. His mother had planned to make some sort of mango and avocado salad to go with the meal only to learn at the last minute that Jason’s dad does not like mangoes.  His loss was our gain and we went home with two very ripe mangoes. When trying to figure out what to make this week, I was determined not to let the mangoes go to waste. The logical choice was some sort of mango salsa. And jerk chicken seemed like the perfect accompaniment.

If you are unfamiliar with the dish, the “jerk” in jerk chicken is a marinade with a wonderful mix of sweet/fruity and spicy flavors.  Be sure to marinate the chicken for a good long while so it can soak up all the flavors (if my chicken had been thawed I would have done so overnight but instead I settled for 8 hours during the day yesterday).  Served with mango salsa and some corn on the cob, you have a fantastic summery meal.

Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa
Adapted from recipes by Ellie Krieger and Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:
4 scallions, trimmed and coarsely chopped
½ -1 habenero or scotch bonnet pepper (depends on how spicy you want it)
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon freshly ground ginger (not the dried stuff you find in the spice aisle)
4 TBL lime juice
2 TBL soy sauce
1 TBL brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 chicken breasts
2 mangoes, pitted and diced
½ red onion, finely diced
½ red pepper, diced
½ cucumber, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon lime zest
Salt and pepper

1.Combine scallions, habenero pepper, garlic, ginger, 2 TBL lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and thyme in a blender until you have a smooth paste. Pour over chicken breasts and marinate for 8 hours or overnight.
2.To make salsa, combine mango, red onion, red pepper, cucumber, remaining 2 TBL lime juice, and lime zest in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3.Remove chicken from marinade and broil or grill (about 5-6 minutes per side or more depending on thickness). Serve with mango salsa.