Chicken Chile Verde

Chicken Chile Verde


Every self-styled young food savant preaches the importance of salt for bringing out the flavor in cooked foods, but what if we have to reduce or avoid sodium? Are we resigned to bland meals? Not with this amazingly fresh, vibrant green sauce from Mexico! The combination of citrus and chili needs NO salt to freshen the taste! It’s got pizzazz all by itself and goes great with delectable protein choices like sizzling chicken, pork or beef fajitas, plain grilled meats, fish and eggs!

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Chicken Chile Verde
Chicken Chile Verde as prepared by David Jackson of Food Over 50
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 30 Minutes
Cook Time 30 Minutes
Servings
4 people
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 30 Minutes
Cook Time 30 Minutes
Servings
4 people
Ingredients
Chicken Chile Verde as prepared by David Jackson of Food Over 50
Instructions
  1. Husk, wash and place whole tomatillos on a barbecue grill medium heat. Roast a few minutes per side until tomatillos are soft and yielding, but not until skins break and lose their juices. Reserve in bowl.
  2. Place Poblanos on grill. Scorch on all sides until skin is blackened and flesh is tender. Bag and steam until cool. Peel, seed and de-rib.
  3. Peel onion, leaving root end attached. Halve onion through the root end to hold layers together while roasting. Grill until marked and softened.
  4. Place whole head of garlic indirectly on grill, over medium heat, and roast until tender to touch. Clean by squeezing soft cloves from skins and reserve roasted flesh.
  5. Coarsely chop and combine all the above ingredients in a large food processor or blender. Tear or chop the cilantro, stems and all, and add to other ingredients. Squeeze and add juice of limes. Add a few grinds of black pepper and blend all. Use a little water to thin mixture if required. It may be necessary to process sauce in two batches. If so, just divide ingredients equally.
  6. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat add peanut oil and chicken, then sauté for 2 or 3 minutes until chicken turns white and slightly firm, but remains juicy. No seasoning is necessary. It’s all in the sauce!
  7. Peel and slice onion length-wise. Add slices to chicken and sauté briefly, just until onions heat through, soften slightly but retain a slight crunch.
  8. Serve the chili verde mixed into sautéed chicken and onions, or simply nap the sauce over sautéed or grilled meat. Either way is delicious! And any leftover sauce freezes beautifully for a quick meal at a later date. I always make a big batch and portion out the extra in self-sealing plastic bags.
Recipe Notes

Roasting of vegetables may be done in an oven, however grill roasting imparts a char flavor that enhances the dish!

T​​​​​his salsa chili verde is completely salt free, however store-bought chicken usually contains some sodium from the packaging process. If you require entirely sodium-free meals, use this vibrant sauce over fish, eggs or non-prepackaged meats.

Make loads of the Chili Verde sauce and freeze the extra for later use. It doesn't come this fresh, or good, or salt free out of a can!

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