Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Two years ago, I had a Mexican student stay with me who would occasionally cook.  
Bendice su pequeño corazón Mexicano santo!
(Bless her little sainted Mexican heart!)

But trying to create international dishes is not always easy in rural Nova Scotia; you have to do a little improvising, at times.  One of the things we often looked for was salsa verde and/or canned tomatillos.  We never did find them.



TOMATILLOS!
But what did my eyes espy at the Farmer's Market a few weeks ago?

So, I scooped up those little sticky, papery suckers and brought them home.  Then I googled lots and lots of information and recipes; and I eventually decided on a tomatillo salsa verde to be served over chicken enchiladas.


Wash the tomatillos, cut them in half and roast them along with a couple of cloves of garlic under the broiler for 5-7 min, to blacken the skin.  Finely chop these along with 1/2 cup white onion, 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and 2 hot peppers.  Cool in the refrigerator.

Warm the tortillas in a skillet, "paint" each with a little sauce, put a small scoop of sauteed chicken, orange peppers & scallions in the centre, roll up and place in a baking dish.  Mix the remainder of the sauce with 1 cup of sour cream, spread over the top, sprinkle with some shredded cheese, and pop under the broiler until the cheese melts.

These were wonderful!  One of the most unique and delicious dishes I've eaten in a long time.
The sauce has a very tangy, almost sour taste to it but not the least unpleasant, quite the contrary.  There was a little bite from the hot peppers, the chicken was juicy, the whole grain tortillas were very soft and easy to cut (perfect with this sauce), and the sour cream mellowed out the pungency of the tomatillos.  

All praise the humble tomatillo!  
This is one of my new favorite dishes.  




8 comments:

Elizabeth@ Pine Cones and Acorns said...

This looks delicious! I will have to try it the next time I see some omit igloos.

Thank you for stopping at Once upon a chocolate, I hope your Thanksgiving dessert comes out fabulous. This dessert is excellent.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elizabeth

Jack Tyler said...

Sounds like you got this just right! Living down here a stone's throw from the Mexican border, dishes like this are as common as beef stew. They're really super when they're done right, as you've discovered. Congrats, and well done...

wendy said...

Oh man, I'd be gobbling those up like crazy. I LOVE Mexican food. I miss my favorite places I'd go to in Utah.
Chinese food seems to be the "specialty" here.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Sounds really good. I wondered how hot those tomatillos were and I have gotten different answers from people. I guess it depends on a person' s tolerance for hot foods. I used to be able to tolerate quite a bit, now my stomach says no, no.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Having international students has it's benefits for sure. Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

Sandy aka Doris the Great said...

Starting Over: The tomatillos are not hot -- that was the hot peppers I added. The tomatillos are very acidic though.

Furry Bottoms said...

I used to live with a hispanic woman. Roommates for about 10 years. I LOVED those tomatillos!! When we went our separate ways, I tried so hard to remember how she would make stuff with it. Salsa verde was one for sure... we would put it over a pork loin.

Diana said...

This looks so good, it made me hungry! Love Di ♥

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