Suzen has the cooking school. And she is famous for her baked bread. So on a first meeting, people will often ask me, “Do you cook, too?”
I used to react a tad aggressively to that question. I was insulted. Yes, if you make great cocktails and brownies, of course you cook.
And the fact is I do more that beginnings and endings. I can do middle things, too. And this middle dish, this main dish, is the best thing I have made in the past year. It is, in a word, wonderful. A spicy, juicy chicken dish that vibrates with the flavor of tomatillo and jalapeno and onion smothering succulent braised chicken. It’s really good.
The recipe instructions below can seem a tad ambiguous. You grill the jalapenos and tomatillos. I took most, but not all, of the blackened skin off. In other words, I did not obsesses about every black speck.
So, there is black in the picture above, and some from the onion, too. I cooked the onions until “soft and aromatic” and then let them progress to the start of “black and crispy.” You can go either route or select your own path. The other ingredients, the tomatillos and jalapenos, have immense impact on the dish so don’t worry about the onion.
Braising is an old and almost forgotten technique. You cook long and low with the meat, the chicken, surrounded in aromatic liquid. The result here is a dish you’ll return to again and again. No matter how much, or how little, you cook.
Braised Chicken with Tomatillos and Jalapenos
Yield: serves 4-6
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
- 6 tomatillos, husked
- 2 jalapenos
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and skin
- 4 chicken legs
- Kosher salt
- 1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 limes, zested and juiced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few more leaves for garnish
For the lime sour cream:
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 limes, zested and juice
Preparation:
For the chicken: Preheat the grill.
Place the tomatillos and jalapenos on the grill and cook until the skins char and blister, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the tomatillos and jalapenos from the grill and let cool.
Coat a large, wide straight-sided sauté pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat.
Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt. Add the chicken legs and thighs, skin-side down, to the hot pan. Brown the chicken well on all sides. Remove from the pan and reserve.
Ditch the excess fat from the pan and add a few drops of new oil. Add the onions, season with salt and cook until the onions are very soft and aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes.
While the onions are cooking, coarsely chop the tomatillos and reserve. Chop the jalapenos into ¼-inch dice and reserve with the tomatillos. If you want to tone down the heat, remove the seeds from the jalapenos before chopping.
Add the garlic to the pan with the onions and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the reserved tomatillos and jalapenos. Stir to combine and add the chicken stock, lime juice and zest. Taste and season with salt if needed (it probably will).
Return the chicken to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes.
Remove the lid and let cook for 15 more minutes. This will allow the stock to reduce. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
For the sour cream: Combine the sour cream with the lime zest and juice and reserve.
Remove the chicken from the pan and stir in the cilantro.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with cilantro leaves and serve with the lime sour cream
Source: Anne Burrell, The Food Network
