Blackened Chipotle Chili Chicken with Zucchini Rice Pilaf & Corn-Tomato Salsa

Prepare Ingredients:

Wash the fresh produce. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator to bring to room temperature. Quarter tomatoes. Cut off and discard the roots of the spring onion; thinly slice, separating the white bottoms and green tops. Peel and mince the garlic. Remove and discard the husks and silks of the corn, cut the kernels; discard the cob. Roughly chop the parsley. Medium dice the zucchini.

Make Rice Pilaf:

In a medium-large pot, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add the zucchini; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 3 minutes, or until softened. Stir in half the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Stir in the rice and 1 cup of water. Once boiling, cover, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer about 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked through. Fluff the finished rice with a fork. Taste the rice; if it is still too firm, add a few more tablespoons of water. Cover the pot and let the rice absorb the water off of the heat.

Cook Chicken:

While still in packaging, firmly pound chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet or rolling pin to a thickness of 1½ cm. Remove from packaging and pat dry with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper and all but a large pinch of the chipotle chili powder. In a pan, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add the chicken. Cook, loosely covering the pan with foil, 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until blackened and cooked through. Transfer to a plate, leaving any browned bits in the pan. Loosely cover the resting chicken with foil.

Start Corn Salad:

Heat the pan with reserved browned bits on medium-high until hot. Add the corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly softened. Add the white bottoms of the spring onion and remaining garlic; cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until softened and fragrant. Add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes, or until softened. Remove from heat.

Finish Corn Salad:

Off the heat, add half the parsley and half the green tops of the spring onion to the corn salad; season with salt and pepper to taste and stir until well combined.

You Plate It:

Slice each chicken breast crosswise. Add any juices from the cooked chicken to the salad. Divide the rice, corn salad and chicken between plates. Garnish with the remaining chipotle chili powder, remaining parsley and green tops of the spring onion. Enjoy!