International Tacos (Cajun chicken tacos with pickled parsnip slaw, apricot chipotle sour cream and sweet apricot chili sauce)
2 pounds chicken breast
Cajun seasoning to taste
6-8 medium sized apricots
Water
1 tablespoon Asian chili garlic sauce
¼ cup, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large parsnips
2 large carrots
½ pound of radishes
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 7-ounce can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
8-10 flour tortillas
Cilantro, chopped to taste
Jalapeno, lemon or lime slices for garnish
Cut chicken breast into ¼-to ½-inch cubes. Place cut chicken in a bowl and season with 3 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning. Set aside.
Chop apricots and remove pits. Put apricot pieces in a food processor or blender, add water to just cover, process for about 1 minute, (so that there are still some small pieces of apricot left). Add apricots to a small pot, add ½ cup of water, 1 tablespoon Asian chili garlic sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoons sugar or more to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium/low, cook uncovered for a half an hour or until the sauce just starts to thicken up a bit.
Shred parsnip, carrot and radishes. Place shredded root vegetables in a bowl, add ¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Add chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to food processor or blender and process until pureed. Mix ¼ cup of chipotle pepper puree with 1 cup of sour cream, add 1 tablespoon lemon Juice and 1 tablespoon cooked apricot sauce. Mix together all ingredients for apricot chipotle sour cream sauce.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a cast iron skillet. Let oil heat up on medium/high heat for about 1 minute. Add Cajun seasoned chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes or until all chicken is cooked through.
Heat flour tortillas in skillet or other pan until lightly browned on both sides.
To build International Tacos: spread apricot chipotle sour cream sauce in the center of the flour tortilla. Layer the Cajun chicken and pickled parsnip slaw on top. Drizzle sweet apricot chili sauce over the top of the taco. Garnish with chopped cilantro and sliced lemon or lime and jalapeno. Eat and enjoy!
Daniel Imburgia