Cajun Chicken and Smoked Chilli Jam Sandwich

Cajun Chicken and Smoked Chilli Jam Sandwich

Cajun spiced chicken with a delicious smoky homemade chilli jam, the full of flavour sandwich you've been looking for!

Course Lunch, Main Course, Sandwich

Cuisine British, Fusion

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings

Calories 654kcal

Author Sasha Hooper

Equipment

Ingredients

For the smoked chilli jam

2 ancho chillies
1 pasilla chilli
1 mulato chilli
pinch of chilli flakes optional
100 ml apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic
150 g soft light brown sugar
pinch of Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

For the chicken

2 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
½ teaspoon dried thyme
ground black pepper
2 teaspoons rapeseed or olive oil
handful of watercress leaves
ciabatta or other good rustic bread

Instructions

For the smoked chilli jam

Remove the stalks and seeds from the dried chillies and place in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave to rehydrate for 15 minutes.
2 ancho chillies, 1 pasilla chilli, 1 mulato chilli
Drain the chillies and chop them finely. Place them into a small, ideally non-stick, saucepan with a pinch of chilli flakes for extra heat if desired. Add the vinegar and bring to the boil.
pinch of chilli flakes, 100 ml apple cider vinegar
Finely chop the garlic and add this to the pan along with the sugar and the oregano. At this point the texture will become jammy. Continue to simmer this mixture for 10 minutes, making sure that you stir it often to prevent burning. After 10 minutes, the jam should have thickened a little.
2 cloves garlic, 150 g soft light brown sugar, pinch of Mexican oregano
Stir in the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and pour into a sterilised jar. Allow to cool and keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
1 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

For the chicken

Place the chicken into a dish or a resealable bag. Add the cajun seasoning, dried thyme, a good grinding of black pepper and the oil. Check if your cajun seasoning contains salt - if it doesn't, add a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly and leave to marinate for at 20 minutes, longer if you can.
2 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons rapeseed or olive oil
Heat a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Griddle the chicken thighs for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until cooked through and nicely coloured.
Grill or griddle your ciabatta bread until lightly toasted. Smear with some of the smoked chilli jam, place on a good handful of watercress and top with the griddled cajun chicken.
ciabatta, handful of watercress leaves

Notes

If your kitchen isn't stocked to the rafters with dried Mexican chillies, fear not. Substitute the pasilla and mulato with another 2 anchos and add a few more chilli flakes - you can find ancho chillies in the supermarkets now. You could also add a fresh chilli or two to add to the flavour. Having said this, dried Mexican chillies are easy (too easy) to buy from the internet and are really worth it for their unique smoky depth of flavour.

To make the jam vegetarian/vegan, simply omit the Worcestershire sauce and increase the light soy sauce to 2 tsp.

Again, if you don't have Mexican oregano, regular oregano is perfectly good. But I urge you to buy some and see how incredibly floral it is!

Nutrition