Chicken with Mango-Cucumber Salsa — The California Recipe I’m Making While I Still Can

Googled 'Twentynine Palms California' and here's what I found: - Population: 28,000 (including the base) - Climate: desert. HOT desert. Death Valley's casual neighbor. - Nearest major city: Palm Springs (45 minutes). LA (2.5 hours). - Things to do: Joshua Tree National Park. That's it. That's the list. - Military spouse reviews: 'I cried for a week.' 'It's like Mars with a commissary.' 'The only good thing is the sunsets.' 'I survived two years and I have the t-shirt.' I'm going to Mars with a commissary. Soo-Jin took the news badly. Not for herself — for me. 'Rachel. RACHEL. Twentynine Palms? That's — oh, Rachel.' Everyone says 'oh, Rachel' the way Mom did. Like I've received a diagnosis. But here's the thing I know that the Google reviews don't: I'm a military kid who lived in five states before high school. I'm a military wife who survived a deployment alone while pregnant. I'm a woman who writes about cooking in hard places, and Twentynine Palms is a hard place. The hard places are where the stories are. The hard places are what the blog is about. The hard places are Chapter Four of the book. So I'm going. Not happily — let's not pretend. But going. I told the blog readers: 'We're PCSing to Twentynine Palms. I'll be cooking in the desert. Expect recipes that work in 108-degree heat with a commissary the size of a closet and a kitchen smaller than my current kitchen, which I didn't think was possible.' The comments: 'Welcome to 29 Palms!' 'You're going to love it (you're not going to love it).' 'The enchiladas from the gas station on base are weirdly good.' 'Your blog is going to be GREAT from there.' The blog will be great from there. Because the blog is great from wherever the kitchen is. And the kitchen goes where we go. Made fish tacos tonight — the California recipe, the recipe I'll miss when we leave the coast. Fresh fish, avocado, lime. Things that are easy to get in San Diego and impossible to get in a desert. Enjoy the fish tacos while they last. Seven weeks until the desert.

The fish tacos were for me — a goodbye dinner to San Diego, to the coast, to the version of my pantry that has easy access to fresh lime and avocado and things that taste like ocean air. But on a night earlier this week, before I started letting myself get sentimental, I made this chicken with mango-cucumber salsa, and it hit the same note: bright, fresh, impossibly California. It’s the kind of recipe that only makes sense when you’re forty-five minutes from the coast and summer produce is just—there. I’m writing it down now, while I still have the ingredients and the kitchen to make it in. Seven weeks is not that long.

Chicken with Mango-Cucumber Salsa

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large ripe mango, peeled and diced small
• 1 cup English cucumber, diced small
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 large lime)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (for salsa)

Instructions

1. Make the salsa. Combine mango, cucumber, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Stir gently and set aside at room temperature while you cook the chicken — the flavors will come together as it sits.
2. Season the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Rub each breast evenly with olive oil, then coat with the spice mixture on both sides.
3. Cook the chicken. Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add chicken and cook without moving it for 6–7 minutes, until golden and releasing easily from the pan. Flip and cook another 5–6 minutes, until cooked through and internal temperature reads 165°F.
4. Rest and serve. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let it rest 5 minutes. Slice on a bias or serve whole, topped generously with the mango-cucumber salsa. Serve with rice, warm tortillas, or a simple green salad.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 520mg