Chicken tomatillo stew

I got both tomatillos and cilantro in my CSA last week, and they were just asking to be put together in something yummy. And I decided I wanted to use my slow cooker. I recall donating many of the tomatillos I’ve gotten in previous years, so I didn’t have a “go to” recipe. 

After some searching on Pinterest and the internet, I found an interesting recipe from Food and Wine recipe for a Slow Cooker Mexican Pork and Tomatillo Stew, which became the inspiration for what I actually made. I really liked what I made, but it did not come out very stew-like. As written, this recipe would be great with rice or tortillas…or a can of diced tomatoes might make it a little stew-ier.

Chopping the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeño ahead of time makes this pretty quick, since you are just dumping everything into the slow cooker. The only can of hominy I could find in Whole Foods was industrial-sized, so I opted for frozen corn. And actually, I used a bag of mixed corn, edamame, carrots, and broccoli…but mostly corn. I’m also not convinced that the browning of the chicken step is really needed. It’s a nice way to give it some color and flavor, but could easily be skipped if you don’t have the time or don’t want to deal with the stove and another pan.

Mise en place

Chicken tomatillo stew
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 cups frozen corn
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound tomatillos – husked, rinsed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro
Toppings as desired, like sour cream and shredded cheese 


Directions

Ready to eat

1. Spray the bottom of your slow cooker with cooking spray. Spread frozen corn in a layer on the bottom of the pot.

2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the chicken breasts and cook until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Turn chicken over and cook an additional 3-4 minutes until browned. Transfer chicken to slow cooker (it does not need to be fully cooked).

3. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Pour the broth into the slow cooker.

4. Layer the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeño on top. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then turn to low for another 5ish hours, until the chicken is cooked and the tomatillos have broken down and formed a sauce. 

5. Remove chicken from slow cooker, shred, and stir it back into the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour longer. Stir in cilantro and top individual servings with sour cream and shredded cheese as desired.