“I want something like a white chicken chili,” said Laurie, offering her pick of the week. “Something with chicken, beans…maybe tomatillos?”
Where I come from, there’s no maybe in tomatillos. I bought tomatillos, cilantro, canned beans, and chicken thighs and figured it would all come together easily. A quick consultation with Rick Bayless and it was even easier than I’d expected.
Something about this recipe seemed familiar, and I realized it’s a lot like this one, which is even easier. The version I made was basically perfect and very frugal; the only thing wrong with it was that Iris didn’t like it, on the grounds that tomatillos are too spicy. Luckily, there were a couple of plain chicken thighs left over for her.
CHICKEN CHILI VERDE WITH BEANS
Adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless
*You’ll notice that this “chili” contains no chiles. I left them out in the hopes that Iris would eat it. The original recipe calls for pickled jalapeños; feel free to add some. This can be made in a slow cooker, in which case remove the skin from the raw chicken and don’t both browning it. I like browning things, but it doesn’t make that much difference.*
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1-1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked, rinse, and halved
3 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 15-ounce cans great northern beans, drained
1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat a dutch oven over medium-high. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and add them to the pot, skin down. Cook until the skin is well browned, about 5 minutes. Flip the thighs and continue cooking until browned on the other side. Remove the chicken to a plate. Work in two batches if necessary; don’t crowd the pan.
2. Remove the dutch oven from the heat and pour off most of the fat. When the chicken is cool enough, remove the skin and discard or use for a chicken-skin sandwich. Scatter the tomatillos in the pot, then the garlic, a teaspoon of salt, the chicken (bone-side up), and the worcestershire sauce. Pour in any accumulated chicken juices from the plate. Cover the pot and place in the oven.
3. Cook 2 to 3 hours, flipping the chicken thighs once or twice, until the chicken is very tender. Remove the chicken to a plate. With an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the contents of the pot to make the sauce. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the bones, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces, and return the chicken chunks to the pot. Stir in the beans and reheat over medium heat until the stew is hot. Add additional salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.