Spicy Tomatillo and Piloncillo Salsa Over Chicken
Acidic tomatillos paired with piloncillo, a dark raw sugar, create a richly flavorful salsa that complements the mild flavor of the chicken breasts.
Recipe for Chicken Breast With a Tomatillo and Piloncillo Salsa
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 20 tomatillos (about 1.5 pounds)
- 2 small onions
- 4 Serrano chiles (6 if you want more heat)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 ounces of shaved piloncillo
- 1 pinch of powdered cumin
- 4 sprigs of cilantro
- Salt to taste
Salsa Preparation
Husk tomatillos and rinse them well. Slice Serrano chiles into strips removing seeds and veins. Coarsely chop 1 small onion. Slice the clove of garlic. Roast all vegetables in a pan until well charred.
Blend charred vegetables with 1/2 cup of water until smooth. The tomatillo seeds should still be visible in the finished salsa. Do not over blend.
Place the vegetable mixture to a pan. Add 2 ounces of shaved piloncillo, a pinch of cumin, and salt to taste. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes to blend flavors and to give the salsa a thicker consistency.
Salsa Tips
You can prepare the salsa up to two days in advance.
Prepare a double batch of the salsa and freeze the extra salsa for use in the future. It takes almost no extra time to prepare a double batch.
Prepare the Chicken Breasts
While the salsa is simmering bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the chicken breasts. Simmer the chicken breasts until they are just cooked through.
When the chicken breasts are cooked through, remove them from the water and set aside. Reserve the cooking liquid for use in another dish.
Prepare the garnish
Slice 1 small onion into thin rings to use for garnish. Chop the sprigs of cilantro.
To Serve Chicken Breasts
Place a cooked chicken breast on one side of a dinner plate. Spoon the green tomatillo salsa over the chicken breast allowing a pool of salsa to form on the plate. The extra salsa is to dip the chicken in.
Place a few sliced onion rings on top of the chicken breast and sprinkle with chopped cilantro to garnish.
White rice is a good side dish that doesn’t clash with the strong flavors of the salsa.
Total preparation time 1 hour and 20 minutes. Serves four.
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