Unleash your tomatillo with this outstanding South of the Border dish. Tomatillos may be somewhat alarming if you have no clue what they are, but chances are, if you have sampled Salsa Verde at a Mexican restaurant, you’ve had tomatillos.
Also known as the Mexican Husk tomato, tomatillos have an exterior paper-like covering and they shouldn’t be confused with green tomatoes, as tomatillos have a sweet-tart, almost lemony-apple taste that has absolutely no substitute in the flavor department. And most definitely can’t be replaced for green tomatoes. After the husk is removed, they are a little sticky, so rinse them in cold water.
Shred any leftover meat the next day (if you have any) and serve with tortillas, topped with thin avocadoes slices, shredded cabbage, Mexican crema, cilantro and the tomatillo salsa.
8-10 bone-in chicken thighs with skins – remove from fridge at least 1 hour before cooking
3 tomatillos – husks removed, washed and left whole
1 onion – peeled and quartered
½ head of garlic
1 poblano – seeds removed and cut in half
½ jalapeño – seeds removed
¼ cup of sherry vinegar
1 TBSP agave syrup
1 TSP ground cumin
Salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 bunch of fresh cilantro – stems included
1 cup of chopped basil
Chopped pistachios
Mexican Crema or sour cream
HEAT OVEN TO 400F
In a cookie sheet lined with foil, add the tomatillos, poblano, jalapeño, onion, ½ head of garlic and drizzle everything with olive oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper. Roast till soft, turning a couple of times to ensure even charring – about 1 hour.
When cool enough to handle, pop out the roasted garlic cloves and add all the roasted veggies into a blender, with some olive oil, sherry vinegar, agave syrup, the cilantro, basil, salt, fresh cracked pepper and blitz till smooth.
Salt and pepper the chicken and drizzle with some olive oil. In a skillet sear the thighs till they achieve some color. Place half the tomatillo salsa on the bottom of a roasting pan or in an iron skillet and place the thighs on top skin side up and cover with some foil. Roast thighs for about 45 minutes covered with the foil and 15 minutes uncovered.
Place the roasted chicken on a platter, top with the warm tomatillo sauce from the bottom of the pan and garnish with chopped cilantro, Mexican crema and the chopped pistachios. Serve with the left-over tomatillo salsa on the side, and drizzle some Mexican crema on top, chopped cilantro and pistachios. Can be accompanied with lime wedges, black beans and wild rice.
