Chicken and Tomatillo Stew

Original Recipe
You can make the tomatillo salsa below and add to the stew or you can just buy a jar of tomatillo salsa and add it to the stew. For church I tripled the recipe and had 5 x too much left over tomatillo sauce. So I made salsa verde with cilatro and onions. I also may have used more chicken stock than the recipe calls for.

Ingredients

Tomatillo Sauce

• 1 lb tomatillos
• 1-2 jalapeño chile peppers, or 2-3 serrano chili peppers (include the seeds if you want the heat, remove them if you don't want the heat), stems discarded, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp lime (or lemon) juice
• Pinch of sugar

Stew

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 cup chicken stock
• Tomatillo sauce to taste (1 - 2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
• 1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro (about one bunch, rinsed and chopped, stems and leaves)

1 Make the tomatillo sauce. Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse well. Cut the tomatillos in half and place them cut-side down on an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Broil for 5-7 minutes until blackened in spots. Let cool enough to handle. Place the tomatillos, any juice they have released, chile peppers, garlic, salt, lime juice and sugar in a blender, and pulse until well blended. If you make ahead, refrigerate until needed.


2 Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large, thick-bottomed pot on medium high heat until almost smoking. Pat dry the cubed chicken with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, and adding more olive oil when necessary, brown the chicken pieces on two sides. When you place the pieces in the pan, make sure there is room between them (otherwise they will steam and not brown), and don't move them until they are browned on one side. Then use tongs or a metal spatula to turn them over and don't move them again until they are browned on the other side. Do not cook through, but only brown. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and lower the heat to medium. There should be a nice layer of browned bits at the bottom of the pan.

3 Add the onions to the pan, and a tablespoon or two more olive oil if needed (likely). Add ground cumin and coriander. Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are softened and the browned bits from the chicken have been picked up by the onions and are no longer sticking to the pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, until fragrant.


4 Add the browned chicken, chicken stock, and oregano to the pan. Add 1 cup of tomatillo sauce. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. If soup needs more flavor or sourness add more tomatillo sauce. Add the cilantro to the stew in the last minute or so of cooking.

Serve over white rice, accompanied with sour cream if needed to offset the heat from the chiles. The stew will thicken as it cools.

Serves 4.

Sweet Potato Soup (Vegetable Soup)

Original Recipe
For church I doubled the ingredients below which produced a full crockpot. Next time I will make the recipe listed below which feeds six. I also wanted more spiciness and after adding the spices the recipe called for and tasting it, I shook in more cumin and chili powder and black pepper to taste.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped 1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1/2 cup lentils 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper a pinch of cinnamon 4 cups vegetable stock plain yogurt or sour cream for garnish

Directions:

1.	Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook a few minutes then place the chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, and apple in the pot. Stir and cook the apples and vegetables about 10 minutes.
2.	Stir the lentils, ginger, spices and vegetable broth into the pot with the apple and vegetable mixture. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils and vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes.
3.	Puree 2/3 of the soup in batches until smooth, using a food processor or blender.
4.	Return the pureed soup to the cooking pot with remaining chunky stew. Bring back to a simmer over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes. Add water or more vegetable stock as needed to thin the soup to your preferred consistency. Serve with yogurt or sour cream for garnish.