Tropical Chicken Torta

I have a wicked guacamole addiction along with a torta dealer named Danny. When I’m not making my own lower calorie version o the classic Mexican sandwich, I head over to Chronic Tacos and let Danny make me an al pastor. In case you have no clue what I’m talking about, allow me to quickly translate it for you.

A torta is traditionally served on either a bolillo or a telera roll,and has various combinations of refried beans, cheese, cilantro, onion, guacamole, salsa, mayonnaise and jalapeno. When I make a torta at home I use chicken instead of beef or pork and leave off the cheese, beans and mayo. Doing that saves me several hundred calories from what it could be.

Bolillo is a long roll with a crust on the outside, very much like a roll you could get at a sandwich shop. Telera is a flat, round roll and looks like a kaiser roll. It doesn’t have the crust like a bolillo but has more texture than a kaiser. The telera is my bread of choice and I pick mine up from either a local Mexican market or my local Kroger-owned grocery store.

Al pastor is marinated pork that is sliced thin and stacked on a vertical spit where it is roasted like the traditional gyro cone. To say it’s the bomb would be a huge understatement. I don’t eat much al pastor anymore because I’m trying to keep the weight off and chicken is a healthier option.

When I began working on losing weight (60 pounds so far with 5 to go) I figured I would be saying goodbye to one of my favorite foods and that bummed me out. One day I was logging in lunch to My Fitness Pal when I decided to look up a telera roll. I was surprised to see that some were as high as 300 calories and as low as 150, depending on who makes them.

The ones I get are in the 150-170 range, which makes my typical homemade torta with homemade guacamole and homemade mango salsa less than 500 calories. If you think 500 is a lot of calories, remember I said “lower calorie” and not “low calorie.” If you’re ready to put together Daddio’s Tasty Tropical Torta wash your hands and lets get to work on the chicken.

The beautiful thing about this is that you can prepare it however you want. The way I do it is to dice up enough chicken breast for you and/or the crew and marinate it in Mojo Criollo by Goya. This particular mojo is a marinade of orange juice, lemon juice, garlic, onion along with various spices and is available in quite a few chain supermarkets and at Latin markets. If I have time I marinate it all day but if not, let it marinate while you work on the guacamole and salsa. [Instead of mojo you can use your favorite rub, marinade or citrus fruit juice.]

Green Crack’ Guacamole

Next we grab the avocados, cilantro, onions, tomato, garlic, and spices needed for the green crack I’m pretty addicted to. When cooking I typically put a lot of flavor and spice in my dishes, so the measurements I’ve put down are small amounts of spice. Start with what I have and if you think it needs some more, go for it.

4 medium avocado

1/4 cup (ish) diced onion [red is best]

1/4 cup diced tomato

2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp fresh diced jalapeno (seeded and de-veined)

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2-3 shakes chile lime seasoning. I get mine from the Mexican market

a dash of sea salt

3 tbsp. lime juice

With all the ingredients in a bowl, take a fork or your favorite mashing device and proceed to take out all your frustrations as you mix the guacamole into whatever consistency you prefer. After it’s finished to your liking, put it in the ‘fridge for a bit to cool down.

Mango Salsa

Grab a couple large ripe mangos or (four small), peel and dice in cubes about the size of a kernel of corn. Take the remaining ingredients and stir into the diced mango, then cool in the refrigerator for a bit.

3-4 tbsp. diced onion

4-5 tbsp. diced tomato

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

2 tbsp. lime juice

2-3 shakes chili lime seasoning

Since I diced and marinated the chicken, I cooked it in the electric skillet. I used the skillet because I can throw the rolls in there to give them a little crunch. Other times I marinate whole breasts, toss them on the grill and chop ’em up. If you use an electric skillet or a frying pan, get the temp up to the 350-400 range. When the marinated chicken hits the hot surface the juices in the marinade quickly caramelize, giving it both flavor and color.

Once the chicken is ready and the roll is toasted we need to get the guac and mango salsa from the refrigerator. Grab your favorite salsa along with any extra cilantro, diced onion or diced tomato you may want on your torta. Lets start with the bottom bun and put a layer of your old-school salsa, followed by mango salsa and anything else you may want. Except for the guacamole. Guac goes on top. That’s how the classy joints do it.

Pile your chicken onto the roll, take your guacified top bun, grab a fork to pick up the pieces that are likely to trickle downward. Give your self a fist bump, high five, pat on the back or a tired cliche of your choosing because you just made something completely rad.

I told you this was a lower calorie, but here’s how my typical torta breaks down. The roll I use is 150-200, so let’s take the high end. The majority of jar salsas average 10-20 calories per 2 tbsp. serving, so assume I put 4 tbsp. We’ll call that another 40 which puts me at 240. The mango salsa is about 45 per 2 tbsp. serving and I generally put four or five tbsp, so I add another 100 calories for the mango salsa. That takes us to 340.

Cilantro has virtually zero calories while red onion is only about 35 calories for a whole cup (I don’t use any more than a few tbsp.) and a whole tomato is about 30. I add another 5 calories for cilantro and onion to make our calorie count an even 350. Assuming the chicken is 110 for 4 ounces and knowing the marinade has 10 calories per 2 tbsp. I also know that you generally dump a lot of marinade after you cook the chicken, so the amount of marinade you actually use is pretty minimal. I’m adding 150 calories for 5 ounces of chicken for a total of 495 tasty calories.

That’s how I do it. Now I want to hear how you get your roll on. Or rather what you would put on your roll. If you try any of the recipes, let me know what you think.

Cilantro and fresh diced jalapeno are inexpensive and calorie free ways to add flavor to your Latin dishes. If you scoop the seeds and veins from the jalapeno and dice it you get more flavor than you do heat.