Chicken in Tomatillo Sauce with Braised Fruit

There's a lot more to Mexican food than fajitas, burritos, sopapillas and the like. In fact, those are Mexican American dishes and according to Rick Bayless "they seem simplistic in comparison to most of the classic cooking across the border" as quoted from his book Mexico, One Plate At A Time.

I love the book and not just because the big guy brought it back for me as a gift when he was in Houston on business March 2009. Cover to cover, it is a tremendous read and nobody's paying me a dime to say that. It's a heck of a lot more than just a book full of recipes, but more like an encyclopedia on Mexican cooking. I particularly love that at the end of each section he includes "Questions and Answers" from the testing process as he was writing the book, because it opens all kinds of possibilities for experimentation.

Anyway, re-reading his work was my encouragement to try a recipe for Chicken with Tomatillo Sauce and Braised Fruit that was last night's dinner. There's a similar recipe in his book for braised pork in a roasted tomatillo sauce, but honestly it was so darn hot in our kitchen yesterday I didn't want to turn the broiler on to roast the tomatillos so figured I'd try this recipe instead. It's from Rosa Mexicano, a chain of restaurants on the east coast that feature authentic Mexican food and it's a real keeper. Download Chicken with Tomatillo Sauce and Braised Fruit

Chicken is braised in a sauce rich with onion, chipotle chiles and fresh tomatillos, redolent with cinnamon and finished with a combination of fresh pears and dried apricots. While it calls for dried cherries as well, I did a switcheroo and added cranberries instead. It is amazingly complex in flavor for its simplicity and wonderful with rice on the side, although some warm corn tortillas would be fabulous too. Give it a try next time you're wondering what to do with that darn chicken you've pulled from the freezer. Believe me, you won't be sorry.

Comments

[Nanan]

Interesting - and lovely photo!

[June]

Thanks Lea!

[Sophia]

On the menu for this week. How do you dehusk a tomatillo? Never done anything with one of these.

Miss ya!

[June]

Sophia - I'd never cooked a fresh tomatillo either so it was an adventure! Just put it under running water and peel the "tissue" right off it. They are a tad sticky underneath, but not as bad as okra. Just wash them off, then cut them in quarters.

Miss you too! Come visit soon, OK?

[pam]

I love that book too!