Southwest Chicken - for real this time!

After my earlier faux southwest chicken I felt I really owed southwest flavor a fair chance. So after a little research I have come up with this:

 Southwest Spice Rub

2 tbsp  chili powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp  brown sugar
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp cayenne (optional, but it really helps)

This recipe from The Grub Files: Cooking with Camissonia didn't include cayenne so I didn't add any but I found I missed the little heat I usually expect in this cuisine so I made it optional. I left the skin on the breasts just to see if crispy skin was better.  It wasn't, it tended to burn.  So next time I will use skinless boneless breasts and I'll add cayenne.

The rice is my own blend of brown and red basmati rice combined with pearl barley.  I cooked the rice with half chicken stock, half water and a little salt.  Served with grated Parmesan on top it is reminiscent of risotto but with a nuttier flavor.

The vegetable ragout was a diced onion fried golden then removed from pan.  Sliced mushrooms fried and removed then zucchini fried. When the zucchini is almost done add everything back to pan and add the yellow pepper. Add some salt and pepper and an ounce or two of chicken stock. Cook this down and serve.

The chicken was delicious and quite different from Cajun so this mix gives me a whole new range of dishes to create.  It should go well with fish, pork, lamb and goat. Ok, no one sells goat around here.