Grilled Chicken With Mango Salsa & Black Beans

Summer is definitely around the corner. I'm nursing my first light sunburn of the year and doing some hardcore research on patio-worthy cocktails (personal fave: Oaxaca Old Fashioned). The barbecue's getting a good work out and my outdoor plants are already potted. Did I mention I'm into summer cocktails (Oh look, so is Martha: http://www.marthastewart.com)?

I'm also spending considerably less time in the kitchen these days since I started working out of town three days a week. I eat camp meals on those days and when home, I look for food that's much simpler to prepare and recipes that include fresh ingredients.

This grilled chicken is a good example of fresh and low maintenance eating. The chicken can be prepped in the morning and then pulled out of the fridge when ready to assemble the salsa and preheat the barbecue. This recipe also highlights my interest in recipes with fewer simple carbohydrates.  In this example, the chicken is served with beans instead of or along with rice. The marinade is also sugarless. Aside from the natural-occurring sugars in the fruit and veg, we're holding back on the simple carbs in order to keep energy and insulin levels more stable between meals, helping to avoid the crashes that come with starch-rich meals. This isn't Atkins, folks; this is just an attempt at choosing foods that make this chef feel well, longer. Anyways, I need to save room for the carb-light cocktails.

Ingredients

Adapted from: http://www.iwashyoudry.com

Serves 4

Chicken

• 4, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 t coarse salt 
• 1 t freshly ground pepper
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/3 cup canola oil

Salsa

• 1 large mango, diced
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 2 serrano peppers, minced

Beans

From: http://www.iwashyoudry.com

• 2 cans black beans including the water
• 2 cans diced chilis
• 1/4 cup red onion, minced
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper
• 1 T olive oil

Method

Wash and pat dry the chicken breasts. Place them in a large sealable plastic bag and add the remainder of the ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. When ready to cook, heat the barbecue to 400F. Grill for approximately 3 minutes each side or until cooked through to the centre. While grilling, try flattening the breasts with a spatula (we used a cast iron skillet) to ensure the entire breast gets exposed to the grill heat.

Combine the salsa ingredients and set aside.

For the beans, heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the cayenne and garlic powder, stirring well to ensure the onions are coated with the spices. Pour in two cans of undrained black beans and the chilis and allow to simmer for 4 minutes.

Spoon the beans into shallow bowls and top with chicken breast and the salsa.