Chicken With Salsa Verde

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: About an hour
Rating: 4(92)
Notes: Read community notes

Though there are a lot of ingredients in this recipe, it's a straightforward chicken saute-and-sauce combination. Brown the chicken -- dark meat is preferable -- then lightly brown the seeds, then soften the vegetables. The tomatillos, if canned, provide enough liquid; if you're using fresh tomatillos you might need to add a little water or stock, but not much. The chicken simmers in the sauce, and lime juice completes the picture. This is traditionally served with a host of garnishes, which I see as optional but fulfilling.

Featured in: Sauté and Sauce, Green and Greener

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 8 servings

2tablespoons lard or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
4chicken leg-thigh pieces, each cut in two (or use 8 thighs)
Salt and pepper
1½cups pepitas (green squash seeds)
1large onion, chopped
4cloves garlic, chopped
4medium poblano or other mild green fresh chiles, diced, stemmed, seeded and chopped
2Serrano, jalapeño or other hot green fresh chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced, optional
1pound tomatillos (16 to 20), husked and rinsed (canned are O.K.; include their juices)
½cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼cup chopped parsley
1tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or marjoram leaves
Lime juice to taste
Optional garnishes: diced avocado; sliced scallions, radishes, cabbage; lime wedges

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Put lard or oil in a large, deep skillet or casserole that can later be covered. Turn heat to medium-high and wait until lard melts or oil is hot. Add chicken, skin-side down. Season with salt and pepper and brown well, turning pieces as necessary, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove chicken; pour off excess fat from pan.
Step 2
Brown pepitas lightly in same pan over medium heat; remove with a slotted spoon. Add onion, garlic and chiles; cook until soft, stirring occasionally and seasoning with salt and pepper, about 10 minutes. Add tomatillos and their juices (if using fresh tomatillos, add about ½ cup stock or water). Stir, then reduce a bit over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Return pepitas to pan, then add chicken. Cover and finish cooking, about 15 minutes, adding stock or water if necessary. Remove chicken. Finish sauce with herbs and lime. Serve with whatever garnishes you like.

Ratings

4 out of 5

92 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Jeff6 years ago

Or use a quality store-bought Salsa Verde (like Stonewall Kitchen) and just finish with your favorite garnishes.

Stephanie Baum6 years ago

I don't know why this calls for so many pepitas. Halved the pepitas and the chicken still turned out very bland. So I actually just put it in the slow cooker and then shredded it. And it was way after tenderizing in the slow cooker mixed with the sauce. IMO there are better recipes than boiling the chicken...

Maria5 years ago

Mexican way, put everything in the blender to make the salsa, add potatoes and a blend of mushrooms, delicious!

Nick6 years ago

dice the tomatillos.

try mint instead of parsley!5 years ago

This came out great. I used a fresh salsa from a salsa bar at the grocery store. The key to flavor was scraping up the browned chicken fat after pouring in the salsa. The pepitas also came out crunchy and light. I’ll make this for friends next.

Susan5 years ago

Delicious! For my family's preference I used bone-in skin-on breasts and put the sauce in the blender just before serving. Probably didn't have the full amount of pepitas either since after frying them in the rendered chicken fat they were amazingly yummy and I, um, yeah, well, couldn't keep my hands off them. Next time I will likely blend all the veggies but leave the pepitas whole. This recipe will be in regular rotation in our house from now on. Thanks Mark!!

Maria5 years ago

Mexican way, put everything in the blender to make the salsa, add potatoes and a blend of mushrooms, delicious!

Stephanie Baum6 years ago

Jaydub6 years ago

Just not very interesting.....

Jeff6 years ago

Or use a quality store-bought Salsa Verde (like Stonewall Kitchen) and just finish with your favorite garnishes.

KW5 years ago

Or Trader Joe's Hatch Valley Salsa.....

Susan5 years ago

Doesn't begin to compete with home made! Okay if you don't have time, or access to fresh chiles, but where I live it would be heresy to use store-bought ;)

Nick6 years ago

dice the tomatillos.

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