Hot and Spicy Mexican Chicken

Make the most of flavoured ingredients such as Mexican spice tomato purée (paste) as they make food preparation faster and simpler. Chicken thighs are an economical cut of chicken and have more flavour than breast (though two chicken breasts could be used here if you prefer). Buy the ready-skinned and boneless ones for this recipe.

Serves 2

1 small onion, thinly sliced, or 30 ml/2 tbsp frozen diced onion
250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup very hot (not boiling) chicken stock
1 small red, yellow or green (bell) pepper, seeded and sliced, or 150 g/5 oz frozen sliced peppers
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
50 g/2 oz diced chorizo sausage
15 ml/1 tbsp Mexican spice tomato purée (paste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


  1. Put the onion in the ceramic cooking pot and pour about half of the stock over. Cover with the lid and switch on the slow cooker to Auto or Low. Leave for a few minutes while measuring and preparing the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Scatter the pepper slices over the onion. Cut the chicken thighs into 2.5 cm/1 in pieces and then place on top of the pepper with the chorizo. Blend the Mexican spice and tomato purée with the remaining stock, then stir in a little salt and pepper. Pour carefully over the chicken.
  3. Cover with the lid and cook for 2-3 hours on Auto or 3-5 hours on Low or until the chicken and vegetables are very tender. Spoon half the chicken into a dish or freezer container and allow to cool. Serve the remainder at once with boiled or steamed rice and a side dish of chopped avocado and soured cream.


Second serving
Either cover the cooled chicken and chill in the fridge for the following day, or freeze for up to a month. If frozen, allow to defrost in the fridge overnight. To serve, heat gently in a saucepan with an extra tablespoonful of water, allowing it to bubble for a few minutes to ensure that the chicken is piping hot.


Cook's tips
Make this dish more substantial, if liked, by adding 45 ml/3 tbsp of canned red kidney or cannellini beans.
If you can't find Mexican spice tomato purée, use sun-dried tomato purée instead and stir in a small pinch each of ground chilli, ground paprika, ground cumin and dried oregano or mixed herbs.