Chiquita Chicken

I'm a huge fan of salsa verde. I like salsa in general (the dance and the condiment), but the green salsa is my favorite. It's tangier, and the flavors are really well balanced. So this weekend I thought, why not turn it into curry? (Work with me here, everything takes on an Indian hue in my hands!). It turned out fantastic!

So here's what I did.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken (preferably dark meat, bone in or boneless)

6 Tomatillos

1 large onion, sliced thinly

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

A handful of cilantro

1 tablespoon cream cheese or yogurt

Spices:

2 teaspoons coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

We start off the same way most Indian food starts off. Saute the onions in a hot pan with a small bit of oil, couple tablespoons. When the onions are golden, throw in the garlic slices as well. In the meantime, blend the tomatilloes together with the cilantro into a smooth sauce. Add the spices to the onion garlic mixture and roast for another minute, then add the sauce and the chicken in at the same time. Turn down to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or so, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. The sauce will become a darker green, and the chicken becomes super tender. Finish off with the cream cheese or yogurt to give it just a little bit of a creamy texture/flavor. I happened to have some onion/chive cream cheese and it was perfect.

If you just want the salsa, follow the recipe except leave off the chicken and the cream cheese. It definitely cooks up faster, and goes very well with chips, tacos, etc. It refrigerates well, and you can keep it in a jar for about a month in the fridge.

Give it a try, best of both worlds, Mexican and Indian! Good stuff.

(The picture doesn't do it justice, but I caught it cooking mid-boil, and my Iphone camera got steamy and blurry :P)