Chicken Skewers with Chipotle Peanut Salsa

By lorik

Ingredients

• Salsa:
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
• 8-inch wooden skewers
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 to 2 canned chipotles en adobe, seeded if you wish
• 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• Salt
• 1 1/2 cups Chipotle Peanut Salsa
• 1 pound (6 to 8 medium)tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 1/3 to 1/2 ounce (3 to 5) dried red chipotle chiles (aka moritas), stemmed
• 1 small white onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
• Salt
• 1 About 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Details

Adapted from rickbayless.com

Preparation

Step 1

Skewers:
Heat a small dry skillet over medium and roast the unpeeled garlic, turning occasionally until blackened in spots and soft, about 15 minutes. Cool, then pull off the papery skin from the garlic.

Place the chicken strips between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to flatten. Thread a wooden skewer through the center of each piece every inch to make sure that the piece is secure. There's no need to soak the skewers since the satays cook so quickly. Place the skewers on a non-reactive rimmmed baking sheet.

Place the garlic in a blender or food processor along with the sugar, chipotles, oil, lime juice and a 1/2 teaspoon salt and process until smooth.

About 15 minutes before you're ready to grill the chicken, brush the marinade over both side of the skewers.

Remove from the marinade and place on a very hot grill or grill pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Place the skewers on a decorative platter, and serve the chipotle peanut salsa on the side for your guests to enjoy.

Salsa:
Roast the tomatillos on a rimmed baking sheet about 4 inches below a very hot broiler until soft and blackened in spots, about 5 minutes per side. Cool, then scrape into a blender jar.

Meanwhile, heat a small (6-inch) ungreased skillet over medium, toast the chipotle, stirring until very aromatic, about a minute. Scoop into a small bowl, cover with hot tap water and soak for about 30 minutes, stirring from time to time to ensure even rehydration.

Turn the oven down to 425 degrees. Spread the onion and garlic on another baking sheet, slide into the oven and roast for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes until the onions are golden—they’ll look a little wilted with a touch of char on some of the edges. The garlic should feel soft and be browned in spots. Cool.

Drain the chiles and scrape them into the blender jar along with the tomatillos, peanuts, worcestershire or soy sauce and 3/4 cup water. Pick out the garlic from the onions and add it to the blender. (If all this is too much for your blender, blend in 2 batches.) Blend until nearly smooth. Roughly chop the onion, add it to the blender and pulse a few times until you’ve got as chunky (or smooth) a salsa as you like. Stir in enough additional water to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1 teaspoon, and the optional sugar.