Chicken Pozole Verde

Recipe & Pic from Isabel Eats

2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, skin removed

1 pound tomatillos, husked and washed

1 large onion, chopped

3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped (or keep the seeds if you like it spicy)

6 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 large handful fresh cilantro, stems and leaves

1 28-ounce can white hominy, drained and rinsed

In a large pot or dutch oven, add chicken thighs, tomatillos, onion, jalapeños, chicken broth, oregano and sea salt. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover partially. Cook for 40 minutes, until chicken is fall-apart tender.

Transfer chicken to cutting board and shred with a fork. Set aside.

Using a large slotted spoon, place the cooked tomatillos, onions and jalapenos in a large blender. Add a large handful of fresh cilantro, a cup or so of the cooking liquid and puree until completely smooth.

Add the shredded chicken, pureed veggies and hominy into the large pot. Stir and cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes uncovered. Taste and season with salt as necessary.

Serve with fresh lime juice, radishes, jalapenos, cilantro and oregano.

Fish Tacos With Salsa Verde

Recipe & Pic from Food & Wine

Salsa Verde

4 medium tomatillos—husked, rinsed and quartered

1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro

2 small jalapeños, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Kosher salt

Tacos

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced cilantro

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 pound skinless halibut fillet, about 3/4 inch thick

Kosher salt

Warm corn tortillas, chopped avocado and sliced red onion and cucumber, for serving

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients except the salt and puree until nearly smooth. Season with salt and transfer to a small bowl.

Heat a grill pan. In a large baking dish, whisk the lemon juice with the olive oil, cilantro and garlic. Add the fish and turn to coat. Season the fish all over with salt and grill over moderately high heat, turning once, until white throughout, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the fish to a platter and flake into large pieces with a fork.

Serve in warm corn tortillas with the salsa, avocado, red onion and cucumber.

Recipe: Lacto-Fermented Tomatillo Salsa

Image from NW Edible Life

from NW Edible Life

5 cups husked, chopped tomatillos

1-½ cups seeded, chopped long green chiles

½ cup seeded, minced jalapeño peppers

4 cups peeled, chopped onions

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro (about 1 bunch)

1/4 cup loosely packed minced fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin, or more to taste

about 3 tablespoons fine sea salt

Clean and prepare a 1 gallon fermentation crock or a 4-liter glass, bail-top jar for fermenting. Make sure it's perfectly clean!

Chop the ingredients one at a time in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Combine all the prepared vegetables in a large bowl, and stir to fully mix everything.

Add the cumin and salt and 2.5 tablespoons of the salt, and mix to combine. Taste the salsa. It should taste distinctly salty, but not unpleasantly so. If the salsa seems bland, add the remaining half-tablespoon salt. Adjust seasonings as desired.

Add the tomatillo salsa to the crock or jar. With a clean spoon, press the ingredients down to release some of the juices. Press the solids under the juices, and weight the ferment.

Seal the crock or jar, and leave the tomatillo salsa at room temperature out of direct sun, for 2 to 4 days. Check the ferment daily. Look for bubbles and other signs of fermentation, give the ferment a little shake and swirl to keep everything fermenting evenly, burp the lid to release any pent-up carbon dioxide in the jar and taste the development of the tomatillo salsa (clean spoon please).

When you like the taste of the salsa or after 4 days, transfer the fermented salsa to smaller jars for cold storage in the refrigerator, where it will keep for at least 4 months.

Recipe: Chard Enchiladas

from The Wall Street Journal

6 tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed

1½ jalapeños, stemmed and seeded

3 cloves garlic

3 cups fresh cilantro, plus ½ cup leaves for garnish

¾ cups crema or sour cream

12 cups Swiss chard, ribs removed and leaves roughly chopped

Kosher salt

¾ cup canola oil

12 corn tortillas

1½ cups Oaxacan or Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated

⅓ cup queso fresco, crumbled

Lime wedges, for serving

Make salsa: Place tomatillos and jalapeños in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until tomatillos fully soften, about 8 minutes. Drain.

Transfer cooked tomatillos and jalapeños to a blender and add half the garlic, 3 cups cilantro, 3 tablespoons crema and 3 cups chard. Season with salt and purée until smooth.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in medium pot over medium-high heat. Pour in salsa and simmer until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.

Make filling: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Thinly slice remaining garlic and add it to pan. Sauté garlic until aromatic and lightly golden, about 1 minute, then add remaining chard. Sauté until leaves wilt but retain their bite, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat, stir in Oaxaca cheese and season with salt.

Fill a small pot with remaining oil and set over medium heat. Once small bubbles form, reduce heat to low. Use tongs to dip tortillas, one at a time, into oil until fully submerged. Once puffed but not at all browned, about 15 seconds per tortilla, set aside on a plate. Add oil as needed.

Divide warm tortillas among 4 plates and top with filling. Roll tortillas around filling to make cylinders and arrange seam-side down. Generously spoon warm salsa over rolled tortillas. Garnish with remaining crema, queso fresco and cilantro leaves. Serve warm with lime wedges.

Recipe: Tomatillo & Chicken Stew

from Simply Recipes

Tomatillo Sauce

1 1/2 pounds tomatillos

1-2 jalapeño chile peppers, or 2-3 serrano chili peppers (include the seeds if you want the heat, remove them if you don't want the heat), stems discarded, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons lime (or lemon) juice

Pinch of sugar

Stew

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1-inch cubes

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

2 yellow onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

2 cups tomatillo sauce

1 teaspoon dry oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped

1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro (about one bunch, rinsed and chopped, stems and leaves)

Make the tomatillo sauce: Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse well. Cut the tomatillos in half and place them cut-side down on an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan.

Broil for 5-7 minutes until blackened in spots. Let cool enough to handle.

Place the tomatillos, any juice they have released, chile peppers, garlic, salt, lime juice and sugar in a blender, and pulse until well blended. If you make ahead, refrigerate until needed.

Brown the chicken: Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large, thick-bottomed pot on medium high heat until almost smoking. Pat dry the cubed chicken parts with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, and adding more olive oil when necessary, brown the chicken pieces on two sides. When you place the pieces in the pan, make sure there is room between them (otherwise they will steam and not brown), and don't move them until they are browned on one side. Then use tongs or a metal spatula to turn them over and don't move them again until they are browned on the other side. Do not cook through, but only brown. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and lower the heat to medium. There should be a nice layer of browned bits (fond) at the bottom of the pan.

Cook the onions, add cumin and coriander, add garlic: Add the onions to the pan, and a tablespoon or two more olive oil if needed (likely). Add ground cumin and coriander. Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are softened and the browned bits from the chicken have been picked up by the onions and are no longer sticking to the pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, until fragrant. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and lower the heat to medium. There should be a nice layer of browned bits (fond) at the bottom of the pan.

Cook the onions, add cumin and coriander, add garlic: Add the onions to the pan, and a tablespoon or two more olive oil if needed (likely). Add ground cumin and coriander. Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are softened and the browned bits from the chicken have been picked up by the onions and are no longer sticking to the pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, until fragrant.

Recipe: Melon Tomatillo Salsa

adapted from Edible New Hampshire

1 cup diced melon 

1 cup diced tomatillo, skinned and husked

½ cup diced onion

1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped

¼ cup chopped cilantro

salt

lime juice

In a medium bowl, stir together the melon, tomatillo, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno with a pinch of salt and a dash of lime juice to taste. The tomatillo brings it’s own tart flavor, so do not go too heavy.

Recipe: Slowcooker Chile Verde

From The Kitchn

2 pounds tomatillos, thin, papery skin removed, halved
1 large yellow onion, diced
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 jalapeños, halved lengthwise, seeded, and ribs removed
2 fresh poblano chiles
3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400°F. Place the tomatillos, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet. Roast until softened and golden-brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and set aside.

Turn the broiler to high. Place the jalapeños and poblanos on the same baking sheet. Broil until charred and blistered all over, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the peppers to a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Let sit to 'steam' for 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the seeds, stem, and skin from the poblanos, and remove the skin from the jalapeños. Add both to the blender or food processor.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with the salt, and brown in 2 to 3 batches until golden-brown all over, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.

Pulse the contents of the blender or food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the cilantro and oregano and pulse until mostly smooth. Pour the salsa verde sauce evenly over the pork. Cover and cook until the pork is tender, 7 to 8 hours on the LOW setting, or 4 to 5 hours on the HIGH setting.

Serve the finished pork chile verde over rice or in charred corn tortillas.

Recipe: Classic Salsa Verde

From Cookie And Kate

1 ½ pounds tomatillos (about 12 medium), husked and rinsed
1 to 2 medium jalapeños, stemmed (omit for mild salsa, use 1 jalapeño for medium salsa and 2 jalapeños for hot salsa, note that spiciness will depend on heat of actual peppers used)
½ cup chopped white onion (about ½ medium onion)
¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves (more if you love cilantro)
2 tablespoons to ¼ cup lime juice (1 to 2 medium limes, juiced), to taste
½ to 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
Optional variation: 1 to 2 diced avocados, for creamy avocado salsa verde

Preheat the broiler with a rack about 4 inches below the heat source. Place the tomatillos and jalapeño(s) on a rimmed baking sheet and broil until they’re blackened in spots, about 5 minutes.*
Remove the baking sheet from the oven, carefully flip over the tomatillos and pepper(s) with tongs and broil for 4 to 6 more minutes, until the tomatillos are splotchy-black and blistered.

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine the chopped onion, cilantro, 2 tablespoons lime juice and ½ teaspoon salt. Once the tomatillos are out of the oven, carefully transfer the hot tomatillos, pepper(s) and all of their juices into the food processor or blender.
Pulse until the mixture is mostly smooth and no big chunks of tomatillo remain, scraping down the sides as necessary. Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt, if desired.

The salsa will be thinner at first, but will thicken up after a few hours in the refrigerator, due to the naturally occurring pectin in the tomatillos. If you’d like to make creamy avocado salsa verde, let the salsa cool down before blending in 1 to 2 diced avocados (the more avocado, the creamier it gets).

*A note from Rae: I've read that simmering the tomatillos instead of roasting them makes them a little less sweet. If that's to your taste, here is a slightly different version to try.

Recipe: Roasted Tomatillo Zucchini Salsa

Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

about 1 1/2 cups of tomatillos, roughly chopped
1/2 of a large sweet onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups of cubed zucchini
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Combine zucchini, tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapeno in a large bowl.  Add oil and salt.  stir.  Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 20-25 minutes or until veggies are soft and slightly charred. 

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a blender or food processor.  Add the juice from the lime. Blend until smooth.  Taste and adjust the amount of salt, if necessary.