Salsa Chicken — The Table Opens Again

I got vaccinated. Thursday, February 18, 2021. Hartford Hospital, the same hospital where I have worked for thirty-three years, the same hospital I have fed, the same building that has been my second home since 1988. I sat in a chair in the conference room and a nurse named Patricia — who I have known for fifteen years, who eats my sofrito every Tuesday in the cafeteria — put the needle in my arm and I did not feel the needle because the needle was nothing, the needle was less than nothing, the needle was the doorway between a year of distance and a future of touch and I walked through the doorway with both arms extended.

I got the shot for Mami. Not for me — I would have endured the pandemic for another year, I would have worn the mask for another decade, I am not afraid of the virus, I am afraid of what the virus took from me, and what it took from me was my mother's hand. The vaccine gives me back my mother's hand. The vaccine means I can sit next to Luz María Ortiz and hold her hand and say, Mami, it's Carmen, and she can see my face, my whole face, and the face is how she knows me, and the mask was erasing me from her memory more surely than the dementia.

My team got vaccinated the same day. Twenty-three people, one line, one conference room. Maria went first after me and cried. Denise went stoic. Jasmine went with a joke: Is there a booster for my student loans? I laughed. I was so proud of them — not for getting vaccinated, which is rational, but for getting through the year, which required more than rationality, which required the thing that food service workers have always had and that the pandemic finally made visible: they show up. Every day. They show up. And the showing up is the heroism that no one gives a speech about and that I have been watching for thirty-three years from the best seat in the house, which is the kitchen.

I came home and made celebratory pernil. Not a full shoulder — a small roast, three pounds, enough for me and Eduardo and Sofía. The pernil was not about the size. The pernil was about the occasion. I am vaccinated. My mother will be vaccinated. The table will open. The hands will touch. The food will be shared. Wepa.

I had planned on pernil, but three pounds of pork shoulder needs time that my heart did not have that evening — I was too full of feeling to be patient with a slow roast. So I made what I always make when I need something with heat and spirit and color that still tastes like a occasion: salsa chicken. It is Eduardo’s favorite, and Sofía’s, and when they saw me pull the jar of salsa from the pantry they both came into the kitchen without being asked, which is the truest measure of a recipe. It was bright and warm and done in an hour, and we ate it at the table I had been setting in my mind for a year.

Salsa Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
• 1 1/2 cups medium or hot salsa (jarred or fresh)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh cilantro, for garnish
• Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil or nonstick spray.
2. Season the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry. In a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub the spice mixture evenly over both sides of each chicken breast.
3. Sear for color. Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken breasts for 2–3 minutes per side until golden. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4. Add the salsa. Pour the salsa evenly over the seared chicken breasts, making sure each piece is well covered. Spoon any salsa pooled in the dish back over the tops.
5. Bake. Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, or until the chicken registers 165°F at the thickest part on an instant-read thermometer.
6. Add cheese and finish. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the chicken and return to the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
7. Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges alongside rice, warm tortillas, or beans.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 340 | Protein: 45g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 620mg