More Fall dinner - Tomatillo Chicken

I love tomatillo and I was thrill to have some from the CSA. I was going to make some salsa. Somehow it does not feel right to be making something cold. It seems so natural to have something comforting when there is a chill in the air. Here is another stew with some Mexican influence. I prefer to use legs and thighs with bone in a stew. I found that  those parts made the stew more flavorful and the meat tends to be less dry. However you can always change the meat selection in this recipe to 2 chicken breasts.

Tomatillo Chicken 

4 chicken thighs or legs, or 2 chicken breast (with bone or boneless, your choice)

1 cup tomatillo, husk removed. Cleaned and cut in half
1 onion, cut into 1/2" pieces.
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2  tsp grounded cumin
2 tbsp chopped thyme
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped chives

2 hot peppers, vein and seeds removed, finely chopped. I am using Aji crystal pepper.

1/4 cup lime juice. (Juice of a lime). I am using 3 key lime to make up the amount of juice.
1 cup water
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
In a hot medium size pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute till translucent

Add hot pepper and cumin, cook for a few mins. Season with salt and pepper

 Add the chicken pieces and let it brown.

 When the chicken pieces are browned. Add lime juice.

 Fold in tomatillo

 Then thyme

 Add 1/2 of the chopped cilantro and 1/2 of the chopped chives.

 Finally a cup of water.

 Bring the mixture to a boil and lower heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for 20 mins

When the chicken pieces are cooked, vegetable softened and the sauce thickened. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Depending on the cookware and the stove, if the sauce is too runny, you can let it boil and reduce the sauce a bit.

 Finally, fold in the remaining chopped cilantro and chives.

Transfer to a casserole dish and serve family style with rice. Garnish with a few sprig of cilantro and lime slices.

or you can plate it with 2 piece of chicken for each person, spoon some sauce over the meat. Garnish.

Serve with rice.

We love it with a simple field green salad on the side to balance some of the heat. It has some heat, but not over powering at all. You can skip the hot pepper if you prefer a milder taste.

Serve 2. can be easily doubled.

Enjoy

Aloha!