Mexican Pollo Verde Almendrado Chicken In Green Almond Sauce Recipes

ALMENDRADO WITH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place onion, garlic and tomatoes under the broiler, or on an already heated skillet, griddle or comal set over medium heat. Roast or char for about 10 minutes, flipping in between, until ingredients are completely charred, cooked and mushy. Set aside and peel the garlic cloves when cool enough to handle.
• In a small skillet set over medium heat, toast the cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick for a couple minutes, moving and flipping them around to toast evenly. Set aside. Toast the oregano for 10 to 15 seconds and remove from the heat.
• In the jar of a blender, place the charred onion, peeled garlic and charred tomatoes, along with the tops from the whole cloves (discard the stems), the peppercorns, cinnamon and oregano. Puree until completely smooth.
• Heat the oil in a large casserole set over medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Season the chicken with the salt and brown the chicken pieces for 2 to 3 minutes per side. You may need to do this in batches in order to not to crowd the casserole. Once you have removed all the chicken, immediately pour the tomato sauce into the hot oil and cover, as it will splatter. Reduce heat to medium.
• Add a cup of chicken broth to the blender and puree for a few seconds to get all the remaining thick sauce out of the blender, pour into the simmering sauce and cover again. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Incorporate the remaining cup of chicken broth, almonds, raisins, olives and capers. Add the browned chicken pieces, cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 20 more minutes.
• Remove the lid and add the pickled jalapeño slices. Increase heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes, allowing all the flavors to blend and the sauce to thicken. Serve with rice.

MEXICAN POLLO VERDE ALMENDRADO CHICKEN IN GREEN ALMOND SAUCE

Steps:

• Put the chicken pieces into a heavy casserole with the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer gently, covered, for 45 minutes, or until tender. Lift the chicken out onto a platter and set aside. Pour the stock into a jug. Rinse out and dry the casserole.
• In a blender or food processor combine the onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, lettuce, hot peppers, and almonds, and reduce to a coarse puree. Do not over blend as the finished sauce should have some texture, not be entirely smooth. Heat the oil or lard in a large, heavy skillet and pour in the puree, which will be almost paste like because of the almonds. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 3 to 4 minutes over moderate heat. Transfer it to a casserole. Stir in 2 cups of the stock, season to taste with salt. Add the chicken pieces, cover, and simmer just long enough to heat the chicken through. Serves 6.
• Arroz Blanco (White Rice) is good with this. For a completely Mexican meal, serve the chicken with the rice and with tortillas. Frijoles (Beans), and guacamole (Avocado Sauce).
• The Book Of Latin American Cooking.

ENCHILADAS VERDES DE POLLO

Steps:

• Arrange racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Roast on the lower rack until the skin is lightly golden and the chicken is cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
• While the chicken is roasting, spread the tomatillos, garlic, jalapenos and onion on a second rimmed baking sheet. Roast on the top rack, tossing once or twice, until the tomatillos are tender and the jalapenos are browned and very tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool.
• Once the chicken is cool, discard the skin and bones and shred the meat into 1/2-inch pieces. Put into a large bowl and set aside.
• Meanwhile, char the poblanos. Turn your gas burner to high. Place 2 to 3 poblanos directly on the grate and roast, turning with tongs every 3 to 4 minutes, until the entire pepper is blackened and very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl and repeat with the remaining poblanos. (Alternatively, if you have an electric stove, arrange the poblanos on a rimmed baking sheet and broil on high as close to the heat source as possible, turning occasionally, until the peppers are charred on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl.)
• Wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the poblanos steam for 15 minutes to loosen their skin. When they are cool enough to handle, peel all the blackened skin from the peppers; it's ok if there are flecks of black on the flesh or if some of the green skin is difficult to peel off. Split the sides open to remove the seeds, rinsing under cold running water if needed. Transfer the cleaned peppers to a blender.
• Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and add to the blender along with the tomatillos, jalapeno, onion and any accumulated juices. Add the coriander, cumin, oregano and a 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and puree on medium-low speed until smooth. Add the cilantro and puree on low speed until the cilantro is chopped but you can still see pieces of it in the sauce. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl and generously season with salt. You should have about 5 cups.
• Toss the reserved chicken with 3/4 cup of the salsa verde in a large bowl and generously season with salt.
• Heat the remaining 1 cup oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until it bubbles immediately when you touch the edge of a tortilla to the surface. Working with one at a time, fry the tortillas, turning once, until just starting to brown, about 10 seconds per side; the tortillas should still be pliable. Transfer the tortillas to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
• Dip both sides of each tortilla in salsa verde to coat, and then transfer to a large plate. Spread 1 cup of the salsa verde evenly over the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken filling across the center of a tortilla. Then fold one side of the tortilla over the filling and roll up the enchilada. Place them seam-side down in the prepared baking dish as you go (they should be nestled right up against each other). Top with any remaining salsa verde.
• Wrap the dish tightly with foil and bake on the upper rack until the sauce is bubbling and the tortillas are beginning to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the creme fraiche and milk in a small bowl. Season with salt.
• Top the enchiladas with the queso fresco, crema, cilantro leaves and onion slices. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

CHICKEN IN ALMOND SAUCE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Spread 1/4 cup almonds on a baking sheet and toast in oven until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, finely grind remaining 1/2 cup almonds in a food processor about 1 minute (don't grind to a paste).
• Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then toast ground almonds, cinnamon stick, oregano, and bay leaves, stirring constantly, until almonds are pale golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and wipe skillet clean.
• Heat oil in skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté chicken, turning over once, until golden, about 5 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a plate.
• Add bacon to skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until bacon begins to render fat and turn golden, about 1 minute. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in ground- almond mixture and chicken broth and boil, scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Stir in pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add chicken, turning to coat, then reduce heat to moderate and simmer, covered, until chicken is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and sliced almonds. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Serve chicken with sauce spooned on top.