Tomatillos

A friend of mine plants a garden every year and shares some of the produce with me. It’s a win-win situation: I don’t have to plant a garden and I get produce delivered to my door..... what more can you ask for? This year she decided to try growing Tomatillos. She got quite a crop of them and brought some to me the other day along with tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. I started looking for recipes that I could use tomatillos in and found the following that I tried last Sunday and it turned out really good. I roasted a whole chicken on Saturday so it was ready to put together on Sunday.

Chicken Tomatillo

1 whole chicken, roasted
1 1/2 lbs tomatillos* - papery husks removed, rinsed
2 jalapenos peppers - top cut off to expose interior and to remove stems
3 cloves garlic
1 cup yellow onion - chopped
Salt
1/4 c. cilantro - rinsed and chopped, stems included
Peanut oil
12 corn tortillas
3 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup crumbled Mexican Cotija** - or Queso Fresco cheese***

Combine tomatillos and peppers in a separate sauce pan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the tomatillos are cooked, and have changed color, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer tomatillos and serranos to a blender. Add 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid to the blender, as well as 2 cloves of garlic, a third a cup of your chopped onion, and about 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro (packed). Add one teaspoon of salt. Purée until completely blended, 15 to 30 seconds. Add more salt to taste if necessary. Pour sauce into a skillet, bring to a simmer and let simmer for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat.

Remove the cooked chicken meat from the bones. Shred the meat with a fork or knife. Put the chicken in a bowl and add 1/3 to a 1/2 cup of the tomatillo sauce to the chicken. Taste the chicken; if it needs salt, add a little.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. Add a tortilla to the pan and use a metal spatula to flip it to the other side. Place another tortilla on top of this one (to soak up the excess oil) and flip again. When the tortillas are heated through, remove them to a plate lined with paper towel. Add a little more oil to the pan, and add another couple tortillas. Continue to heat through and soften all of the tortillas. Note that if you are using just made homemade tortillas you can skip this step because the tortillas are already hot, softened, and ready to eat.

Warm the oven to 200°F. Dip a tortilla in the salsa verde tomatillo sauce and place it on an oven-proof serving dish. Scoop a spoonful of chicken into the center of the tortilla and roll up the tortilla. Place on the serving dish and repeat with all of the tortillas. Put into the warm oven to keep the enchiladas warm while you finish the sauce.
Heat the salsa verde sauce again until simmering, then remove from heat. Stir in the sour cream until well blended. Remove the warming enchiladas from the oven and pour salsa verde sauce over all of them. Top with chopped onion, cheese, and cilantro.

Serve immediately. Serve with extra garnishes of onion, cheese, and cilantro on the side.

Recipe adapted from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_enchiladas_verdes/

* Tomatillo - The tomatillo is a plant of the nightshade family, related to the cape gooseberry, bearing small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. Tomatillos originated in Mexico, and are a staple of Mexican cuisine. Tomatillos are grown as annuals throughout the Western Hemisphere. Tomatillos are generally eaten fried, boiled or steamed. en.wikipedia.org
** Mexican Cotija - “A Hispanic-style cheese, known as the “Parmesan of Mexico”. It was originally made with goat’s milk, but today cow’s milk is preferred. This cheese is strongly flavored, firm and perfect for grating. It is used in Hispanic cooking, in a manner similar to the way Parmesan is used in Italian cooking. Cotija is commonly used to add a lively garnish to common dishes: simply sprinkle on top of refried beans, salads, chili or lasagna. In Mexico, it is also widely used to enhance the flavor of many savory dishes by mixing directly into the casserole or recipe. In the U.S. it is increasingly popular on pasta. It is typically shredded onto cooked foods, also in salads and with fruit.” Fromage iPad app
***Queso Fresco - “One of the most favorite Mexican cheeses, Queso Fresco is a fresh cheese of various sizes and shapes made from 100% cow’s milk. The cheese has a grainy feel and very mild, fresh acidity. Queso Fresco is used for grilling and baking and it can also be used in salads. It softens but does not melt when heated.” - Fromage iPad app

The following is a good beverage to serve with the above recipe.

Lime Punch

1 can frozen lime-aide concentrate
club soda
ginger ale
lemon or lime slices - for garnish
Follow directions on the can. Instead of water add the club soda and the ginger ale in equal amounts to equal the water amount suggested in the directions. Chill well and garnish with lemon or lime slices. Print this post