Culture

For those who know me or have followed my recipes here since last year, my unwavering love for soft-shell tacos is evident. My favourite being those that include melt-in-your-mouth, slow-cooked meats. For those of you who really value that extra twenty minutes of sleep in the morning and CBF putting on the slow cooker before you head out, slow-cooked meats can be a bit of a weekend luxury. I have been on the lookout for a last-minute taco recipe that can satisfy those taco cravings on them busy weeknights, and I think this may be the answer we have been waiting for.

Make the most of the rest of stone-fruit season by turning lush peaches or nectarines into a thick and delicious sauce to cook pulled chicken in. The natural pectins in the fruit help to thicken the sauce, as well as providing a wonderful flavour profile that goes so well in tacos.

Use chicken thighs; it doesn’t matter if they have bones — you are going to tear the meat apart and off them anyway. The thighs are juicier and more tender than breast, so you will be guaranteed a melt-in-your-mouth taco.

Ingredients

Serves 5

For the Chicken

• 5 chicken thighs
  
• 5 teaspoons ground cumin
  
• 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
  
• ½ – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on your spice preference)
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
  
• 1 onion, sliced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• Splash of oil
  
• 4 peaches or nectarines, de-stoned and roughly chopped
  
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  
• 1 cup water

Fillings

• 2 large carrots, julienned or grated
  
• ¼ red cabbage, finely sliced
  
• Fresh coriander leaves

Other Bits

• 15 small soft tortillas
  
• Good quality mayo

Method

1. Marinate your chicken thighs in the cumin, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and cider vinegar and put to one side for ten minutes.
   
2. Sauté the onion and garlic over a medium heat in a large, deep saucepan until soft and translucent. Add in the peaches and brown sugar and cook until the sugar caramelises and the peaches soften. Pour in your tin of tomatoes and water and bring the mixture to a strong simmer.
   
3. Place in your pieces of chicken and scrape in all the remaining marinade. Turn the heat down to medium-low, then place a lid on the pan and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
   
4. Toss together your red cabbage and carrot and prepare the coriander.
   
5. Once the chicken thighs have cooked right through, remove them one by one from the pan and pull them apart with two forks, then return them to the sauce. Continue to simmer this mixture with the lid off until the sauce thickens to a thick gravy-like consistency (around another ten minutes).
   
6. Allow diners to spread mayo onto each tortilla, followed by the carrot and cabbage, the pulled chicken and then the coriander.
   
7. Enjoy!