My husband and I are addicted to pretty much every show on Food Network. And HGTV. Our favorite chefs at the moment are Anne Burrell and Robert Irvine. Thanks to ‘The Next Iron Chef’, Jeff Zakarian is creeping up there too. Any who, last weekend we were watching ‘Secrets of a Restaurant Chef’ hosted by Anne Burrell and she was making a braised chicken dish that just looked absolutely incredible. So we had a bright idea of attempting to make it for dinner that night.
It looked complicated but between the two of us it turned out to be so easy and beyond delicious. We were extremely proud. I mean, we never used some of these ingredients before and I actually got to use my brand new, nice and shiny braising pan that we got as a gift for our wedding..over a year ago.
If you like chicken, tomatillos and/or jalapenos – this is the dish for you. The sauce had the right amount of spice and I wish I had more of it because I am drooling just thinking about it! I am not a fan of chicken thighs and legs, so next time we make this – and there will be a next time very soon – I’m gonna try using chicken breasts.
Anne Burrell’s Braised Chicken with Tomatillos & Jalapenos
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
terrible picture. lo siento
Chicken:
- 6 tomatillos, husked
- 2 jalapenos
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and skin
- 4 chicken legs
- 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
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few more leaves for garnish
Lime Sour Cream:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 limes, zested and juiced
Directions:
For the chicken: Preheat the grill.
Place the tomatillos and jalapenos on the grill and cook until the skins char and blister, 10-12 minutes. Remove the tomatillos and jalapenos from the grill and let cool.
Coat a large, wide straight-sided saute 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, about 7 – 8 minutes.
While the onions are cooking, coarsely chop the tomatillos and reserve. Chop the jalapenos into 1/4-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 1-2 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 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 chicken, sprinkle with cilantro leaves and serve with the lime sour cream.
Seems like a lot of steps but they are extremely easy and the outcome is bangin’! And definitely don’t omit the lime sour cream sauce. It made the dish! We served it with cilantro-infused jasmine rice (yea, we are fancy) but I think next time I will add black beans too it.
Make it! I dare you….
-Amanda
