Achiote and Chile Pasilla Marinated Chicken Roulade

Per your requests. This was inspired by a dish I had 12 years ago from a restaurant named Xena in Austin. Unfortunately it was well ahead of its time and closed. The chicken was breaded and baked but the avocado sauce was what set it apart.

Marinade-

Rehydrated 4 or 5 dried chiles in water just off the boil. I used Pasilla and New Mexico for this one but you could use Arbol, Cascabel, or even Chipolte if you like. Once they have softened remove the stems and split them and discard the seeds. I bought and ground whole Annatto seeds for the achiote. I recommend buying your achiote already ground because this was a heck of an ordeal. They do not give it up easily.

Combine the chiles and achiote powder in a food processor with some vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, minced garlic, lemon zest and honey. Blend it until completely incorporated. Set aside.

Chicken-

Butterfly boneless skinless breasts and pound out with a mallet until they are about 1/8th of an inch thick. I usually do this in a large ziploc storage bag with a little oil in it to contain the mess. The oil helps prevent the chicken from tearing apart when pounding.

Put the breasts in a bowl or ziploc bag with the marinade and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

After allowing the chicken to rest don some latex gloves and lay it out on a work surface covered with plastic wrap. Achiote is commonly used as a food dye and for makeup. It will stain your skin and surfaces if exposed for a period of time. Lay down slices of Manchego, thinly sliced panchetta or seranno ham that has been browned in a saute pan (put this pan aside and don't discard the rendered fat from the ham), and sage leaves on one side of the breast. roll the breasts up and remember to tuck the ends into contain the cheese. Secure with toothpicks. Set aside.

Roasted Corn Salsa-

Soak 4-5 whole ears of corn for 10-15 minutes. Toss on the grill for 12-15 minutes turning occasionally. The outsides will char but don't worry. Remove the husks and silk. Cut off the end where the husk is and stand on end. Run your knife down the sides and remove the kernels.

Peel and grate one bulb of Jicima. Dice a red and green bell pepper, 1/2 onion, shallot, and garlic. Add this to a large bowl with the corn and toss with the juice of one lime, one blood or regular orange, some chopped cilantro and a couple table spoons of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside

Mashed potatoes.

Peel some white or creamer potatoes and boil in salted water until soft. Strain and set aside. Saute one diced onion, shallot and garlic in the pan previously used for browning the ham. Add a little oil if needed and salt and pepper. Cook this down for 5-7 minutes until the onions are soft. Increase the heat and add 1/2 cup of Bouchant, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier. Hold a lit match over the pan to ignite and burn off the vapors. If you cook on gas just tilt the pan and it should flare up. If you get nervous about the flames keep a lid close and simply cover the pan to put it out. Make sure all your friends are around for the show of course. After the liquid has reduced add this to the potatoes with 1/2 stick of butter, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of heavy cream 1 tsp of ground mustard and 3 table spoons of horseradish. Mash this all together and a salt to taste.

Avocado Sauce-

Split and scoop out 5-6 avocados. Roughly chop or smash them up. Add to a saute pan with 3 gloves of minced garlic, 1 cup of cream, 1/2 stick of butter. Heat until just warmed through and transfer to a blender. Add a few sprigs of cilantro and some salt. Turn on and puree slowly adding 1/2 cup of olive oil and salt. If the sauce is still a little tight slowly add warm water to get the desired consistency.

Final prep-

Grill the chicken and remove when cooked through. Remove the tootpicks and slice into medalions. Put a spoonful of potatoes in the center of the plate and ladle the sauce around the rest of the plate. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes and drop some corn salsa on top. Enjoy!

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.