Recipe from Rachel, photos by Emily
I got a little carried away when planting tomatillos this summer and after making two large batches of Salsa Verde I decided to look for some other tomatillo recipes. I found this recipe in Cook's Illustrated and altered it a bit to fit with what I had to contribute from my garden. This dish fed us for one large dinner and multiple lunches afterwards. I hope you like it as much as we did!
What you'll need:
4 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced or pressed, separated
1 tsp ground cumin, separated
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2-3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
16-20 medium tomatillos, about 1.5 pounds, or three 11 ounce cans
4 jalapenos, seeded (save the seeds to add spiciness)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
Pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime
2 cups grated cheddar or monterey jack cheese
12 flour tortillas (corn tortillas can be substituted)
2 scallions chopped for garnish (optional)
sour cream for garnish (optional)
4 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced or pressed, separated
1 tsp ground cumin, separated
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2-3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
16-20 medium tomatillos, about 1.5 pounds, or three 11 ounce cans
4 jalapenos, seeded (save the seeds to add spiciness)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
Pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime
2 cups grated cheddar or monterey jack cheese
12 flour tortillas (corn tortillas can be substituted)
2 scallions chopped for garnish (optional)
sour cream for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Set oven to broil and position oven racks to top level. In a medium saucepan heat 2 tsp of oil over medium high heat, add onion and cook about 6-8 minutes until golden. Add 2 cloves of the garlic and 1/2 tsp cumin, and cook for about 30 seconds more. Lower heat to low and stir in chicken broth. Add the chicken, cover and simmer until chicken is 160 degrees inside, flipping once (about 15-20 minutes). Remove chicken from pan and let cool. Drain the liquid from the pan and reserve the onions for later.
Cut tomatillos and peppers in half and toss with 2 tsp oil. Arrange on a baking dish lined with foil, with the skin side up. Broil until veggies are starting to blacken, about 7 minutes. Take veggies out of the oven and reduce the oven to 350F.
Let the veggies cool, then put in food processor or blender along with their juices, 1 tsp of sugar, 1 remaining clove of garlic, lime juice, 1/2 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of salt. Process until slightly chunky, and season with more sugar, pepper, jalapeno seeds and additional salt, if desired. Set aside.
Working on a cutting board, use two forks to pull apart the chicken breasts into shreds of meat. Run a knife through it when your done to make sure it's all in bite size shreds/pieces. Combine the chicken with the cilantro, 1 cup of cheese, onions from before and a pinch of salt.
Smear about 1 cup of the tomatillo sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish.Warm the tortillas in the oven for about 3 minutes, being careful not to make them too crispy, otherwise rolling up your enchiladas will not work. When your done warming them, increase the oven to 450F. Work with one tortilla at a time, spread about 1/3 cup of the filling in the center of the tortilla, roll it up, and place seam-side-down in the baking dish. Continue this until all the tortillas have been used up. Pour the rest of the tomatillo sauce over the tortillas in the baking dish, being sure to cover each one at least a little. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over top of the enchiladas. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 450F. Serve with scallions and sour cream and ENJOY!!
Notes: If you don't have fresh tomatillos, or can't find them in the store, you can definitely substitute them for canned ones. Cook's suggests 3 11-ounce cans of tomatillos to sub for the 16-20 fresh ones.
