Grilled chicken a la plancha with avocado salsa {Pollo a la plancha}
This Latin style grilled chicken or pollo a la plancha is served with avocado salsa. The chicken breasts are marinated with a mix of orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, oregano, oil, salt/pepper.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 small oranges (juiced)
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 4-5 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 tbs oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tbs olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
- 1-2 limes (cut in halves or quarters)
- Freshly chopped cilantro
- 1 ripe but firm avocado (cut in slices or diced)
- ½ small red onion (sliced or diced)
- 1 red Fresno chili pepper or your choice of hot pepper
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tbs finely chopped cilantro
- Salt to taste
- Ecuadorian menestra style beans
- Latin/Ecuadorian style rice
Instructions
- 1
To prepare the chicken marinade combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
- 2
Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts and let marinate for at least an hour, overnight is ideal, you can marinate the meat in a glass/ceramic container or you can also place them in a resealable bag (and then place the bag in a container to avoid any leaks.
- 3
To butterfly the chicken breasts, use a sharp knife to made horizontal cuts on the inner half of each chicken breast, then open it like a book or butter fly. On the same cutting board, cover the butterflied breasts with a piece of wax paper and gently pound the breasts with a meat mallet or your choice of heavy object to help tenderize and thin out the meat.
- 4
For the avocado salsa, rinse the red onion slices or diced pieces in cold water with a sprinkle of salt – this will help remove their bite. The mix all the ingredients - diced avocado, diced red chili pepper, onions, lime juice, cilantro, oil, and salt to taste – in a bowl. You can prepare the avocado salsa right before cooking the chicken or a few hours before – it can be refrigerated until ready to serve.
- 5
Heat the plancha, grill, griddle or pan that you will be using to a high temperature. You can lightly grease with a drizzle of oil it if it’s prone to sticking.
- 6
Grill the chicken breast fillets for about 5 minutes on each side or until fully cooked – the exact time will vary based on the thickness of the chicken filets as well as the temperature of the griddle.
- 7
Remove the chicken from the griddle, drizzle with lime juice and sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro.
- 8
Serve immediate with chunky avocado salsa on the top or on the side, and your choice of additional side dishes.