Green and Red Chicken Chilaquiles and Chicharrones Tacos

The spice cha-chas on. Red light, green light, red salsa, green salsa…you’ll be doing the Conga at the stove. After I played this oldie music video, I proceeded to watch every Gloria Estefan classic and now all I have is fantasies of doing a karaoke montage of Conga, Turn the Beat Around, and The Rhythm is Going to Get You as I serve the whole room these chilaquiles and chicarrones tacos, wearing a hat with dingle balls and off-the shoulder fringed, flowered, and fruited dress. Izzy’s fantasy is eating this plate of chilaquiles, or at least every morsel of cheese on top.

 

Green and Red Chicken Chilaquiles with Fried Eggs

Adapted from Food and Wine

Salsa Roja

12 ounces small tomatoes, chopped

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 serrano chiles, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped epazote or 1 tablespoon chopped oregano

1 cup water

Kosher salt

Chicken Chilaquiles

Two 8-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 large eggs

6 ounces corn tortilla chips

Grated Colby Jack cheese

Sour cream

chopped white and red onion, for garnish

Salsa Verde

1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 cups water

1/2 medium white onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 large scallions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped epazote or 1 tablespoon chopped oregano

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Combine all the ingredients except the salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt and simmer over moderate heat until the onion is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and coarsely mash the salsa with a potato masher. Let cool completely, season with salt and serve.

You will need 1 1/2 cups Salsa Verde for this recipe, save the rest for later!

1.Make the salsa verde (as above) and the salsa roja at the same time. Make the salsa roja In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients, season with salt and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until saucy, about 25 minutes; keep warm.

2.Meanwhile, make the chicken chilaquiles In another medium saucepan, cover the chicken, garlic and bay leaf with 1 inch of water. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat until the chicken is white throughout, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly; reserve the cooking liquid for another use. Coarsely shred the chicken and season with salt; keep warm.

3.In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil. Crack the eggs into the skillet and season with salt. Cover and cook over low heat until the whites are firm but the yolks are still a little runny, about 3 minutes.

4.Mound the tortilla chips on plates. Spoon some of the salsa roja over half of the chips and some salsa verde over 
the rest. Top with the shredded chicken and fried eggs. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and onion and serve with the remaining salsa roja and salsa verde.

Also, you could just keep going with the Salsa Verde and make some chicharrones tacos, which was a first (and a last) for me. Note that I am smiling below BEFORE having eaten the taco.Thank you to Norma’s Mexican Bakery in Midcity for supplying the chicarrones. I’d love it if Walgreens would sponsor me for the toilet bowl cleaner. Or maybe Jim Gaffigan, Hot Pockets and I could do a bit.

Chicharrones Tacos

1/4 pound thick, crisp chicharrones, plus crushed chicharrones for garnish

1/3 cup water

1 1/2 cups Salsa Verde (see above)

Salt

Six 8-inch taco shells or fresh corn tortillas, warm

Sour cream

purslane or watercress, for serving

In a large skillet, combine the chicharrones and water and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the chicharrones start to soften and the water is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Ewww. I do not recommend routine eating of these–like having atherosclerosis for dinner.

Add the salsa verde and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the chicharrones are coated and the salsa is thick, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Serve in the corn tortillas, topped with sour cream, purslane and crushed chicharrones.

Haiku #252 Sept 9^th

Together, a room

Stuffed with worry prepares for

Resuscitation.

Haiku #253 Sept 10^th

All therapeutic

dyads are unique, as no

two write the same book.

Haiku #254 Sept 11^th

A chicharron

did not go gently into

my good gut. Nausea.