Pollo en Salsa Verde con Queso

Often, my kitchen inspiration is based on what is ripe and ready for picking in the garden. Our backyard has provided an abundance of tomatillos and chili peppers this week, which instantly had me thinking about Salsa Verde. A versatile sauce that blends the piquant brightness of the tomatillos with cilantro and fresh green chilis, Salsa Verde is wonderful served cold or hot. Here, I have used it as a braising liquid for chicken, which is then finished in the oven with cheese. A satisfying dish fit for a crowd.

For the Salsa Verde:

10 to 12 small tomatillos, husks removed, sliced in half

2 to 4 fresh serrano chilies, stemmed and seeded

1 small white onion

1 large garlic clove

½ cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Kosher salt

For the Chicken:

¼ cup safflower or canola oil

1 large garlic clove

6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 small white onion, sliced

1 fresh jalapeño, stemmed and seeded, sliced

2 to 3 cups Salsa Verde

1 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

¼ cup pepitas (roasted and shelled pumpkin seeds)

½ teaspoon cumin

4 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated

Directions:

Make the Salsa Verde: Cut onion in half lengthwise. Leave one half intact and finely chop the other half. Combine the tomatillos, chilies, and garlic clove with the intact onion half in a medium saucepan. Add water just to cover everything and 1 tablespoon salt. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until tomatillos are slightly translucent and the chilies have gone from bright green to faded tan-green. Cool for a few minutes, then pour everything, including the liquid, into a blender and puree. Use caution blending hot liquids! Remove the center cap of lid to open the steam valve, and cover loosely with a towel, to prevent lid from blowing off and sending hot liquid everywhere. Return puree to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook gently for 10 minutes, reducing sauce by about one-third. Remove from heat, add minced onion and cilantro, stirring to combine. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Should yield about 3 to 4 cups of Salsa.

Prepare chicken: In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Pierce the garlic clove with a fork, then add it to the oil. Stir around as it sizzles and cook until light golden brown, then pull from oil and set aside.

Lightly season chicken thighs with salt, then sear in batches. Don't overcrowd the pan. Add 2 to 3 thighs at a time to the pan and sear for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Transfer seared thighs to a platter as you go and set aside when finished.

Next, add sliced onion and jalapeño to hot oil. Sauté with a wooden spoon, scraping up any browned bits at bottom of pan. Take the reserved garlic clove that you used to flavor the oil, slice it, and add to the onions. When onions are translucent and chili is soft, pour in 2 cups of the Salsa Verde and return the seared chicken. Stir to incorporate around the chicken. Add more Salsa Verde if needed, up to another cup, to bring liquid almost to top of chicken pieces. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until chicken is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, gently toast the pepitas in a cast iron skillet with a teaspoon of oil. When fragrant and toasted, add cumin and season to taste with salt. Set aside. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove chicken from pan when done and set aside on a platter. Raise heat and reduce sauce by half to thicken. Pour reduced sauce into a 9" x 13" shallow baking dish, then arrange thighs in single layer on top of sauce and cover each with a clump of grated cheese. Place dish in pre-heated oven and bake until top is browned and bubbly, about 10 to 15 minutes. Pull from oven and sprinkle top with toasted pepitas and chopped cilantro.

Notes:

If you don't have access to fresh tomatillos, you can find canned Salsa Verde at grocery stores with a large Latin section. To brighten up the flavor of store-bought Salsa Verde add fresh minced cilantro and onion. Be careful not to oversalt the final dish, as canned Salsa Verde is often much saltier than homemade.

I served this with some Mexican rice, a side dish of black beans with zucchini, and a crisp Mexican lager with plenty of limes. Tortillas are always a good idea. Leftovers can be shredded and used for tacos. Buen provecho. Enjoy!