Chicken Verde Stew with Hominy

I originally saw the recipe for this wonderful 'mexican' stew in the January Cooking Light magazine. I knew immediately that it would be perfect for us  . . . cilantro - check . . . peppers - check . . . tomatillos - check . . .hominy - check . . . 322 calories per serving - sold.

Essentially you make a roasted pepper and tomatillo salsa and use that to flavour the chicken stew. Given that it is the dead of winter here in Canada tomatillos are hard to come by. I printed off the recipe and stuck it in the 'recipes to try . . . some day . . .' file.

When we were last across the boarder for some shopping I saw tomatillos in the produce section. Quickly filling a bag with them, I immediately placed this stew into our weekly menu rotation.

All the fuss was SO worth it. We loved the flavours of this stew. In fact, the only thing we didn't love was the fact that I didn't make a double recipe. When I make it next I'll likely increase the peppers - it had some gentle heat but we like things a bit more firey . . .

We served the stew with pieces of jalapeno corn bread - a perfect accompaniment.

Now I can't wait until I find some fresh tomatillos at the local market. SIGH Apparently I'll be making this next in August.

 
Chicken Verde Stew with Hominy

2  Anaheim chiles
Cooking spray
1 1/2  pounds  tomatillos
1/4  cup  finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cumin
1  teaspoon  dried oregano
2  cups  fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided
2  tablespoons  olive oil, divided
1 1/2  cups  finely chopped onion
1/2  cup  chopped carrot
1/2  cup  chopped celery
>1/2  cup  chopped red bell pepper
3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
4  teaspoons  finely chopped garlic
1  pound  skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3/4  teaspoon  kosher salt, divided
1/2  teaspoon  black pepper, divided
1  (29-ounce) can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
6  tablespoons  reduced-fat sour cream
Cilantro leaves (optional)

Preheat broiler to high.

Halve, stem, and seed chiles. Place chiles, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil for 5 minutes or until charred. Place chiles in a paper bag; seal. Let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Arrange tomatillos on prepared baking sheet, and broil 14 minutes or until blackened, turning once. Combine the chiles, tomatillos, 1/4 cup cilantro, cumin, and oregano in a blender. Add 1 cup broth; process until smooth.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Place onion mixture in a large bowl.

Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of chicken; sauté 3 minutes. Add browned chicken to onion mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and 2 teaspoons oil. Combine remaining 1 cup broth, tomatillo mixture, onion mixture, and hominy in pan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Ladle 1 2/3 cups stew into each of 6 bowls, and top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Comments

[bellini]

Cooking Light shines again!!!! I cross the border into Washington just to get Mexican ingredients like queso fresca and fresh corn tortillas. No such thing here.

[Kayte]

Nothing like a bowl of flavorful stew for dinner on a cold and dark evening...this looks really wonderful and so does the cornbread. You have such nice dishware, it always sets of the food just right.

[Cindy Ruth]

I saw this recipe and thought it sounded really good. Glad to know you tried it.

[JDeQ]

We're lucky in the summer bellini - we have a huge fruit farm north of us that has many workers from mecico. They grow the most amazing tomatillas and peppers.

It had better Kayte - I bought it especially fro food shots. It's true . . .bloggers are nuts.

It is amazing Cindy - like all stews it gets better the second day.