This dish uses cilantro. Let’s talk about that for a second. I used to hate cilantro. Yuck. To me, it tasted like the smell of dirty socks, sweaty armpits, or B.O. (B.O…. always makes me think of this Seinfeld.) But it kept showing up in little bits in my food. A little in salsa, and I love salsa. A little in my guacamole, and I love guac. A little in some Thai food, and holy crap I love Thai food. Now, suddenly, I don’t loathe cilantro. I certainly don’t throw in my food in great handfuls or anything, but I am starting to appreciate it in very small quantities. Very small. Use it here if you like, or swap it out for flat leaf parsley. Don’t apologize. I get it. It tastes like dirty socks smell.
I came across this recipe in Bon Appetit last year when my friend Melissa came to Seattle. Lucky for me she was presenting at a work conference 
there (since she’s a super-smart PhD student) so we got to turn her trip into a little reunion. Melissa is the most world-traveled peer I know. I’m continuously amazed all of the sudden seeing a social media picture and she’s in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Israel, Chile, Cambodia, or Uruguay, just to name a few. And by a few I mean A FEW. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised seeing as we become best buds while living together during a college study-abroad semester in Australia. Don’t even get me started on Australia. I love that place. (Pictured above: Melissa and I at the horse races in the Gold Coast, Australia.)
But back to the point, when Melissa got in I wanted to make dinner that night so this dish is what I prepared. I’ve been thinking about making it again since. (That’s how I judge a good recipe. If I would make it again.) That day we ate it with rice, but tonight I made it with Cauliflower Rice. I usually flavor cauli rice with herbs and/or citrus, but tonight I didn’t add anything to flavor it besides salt and pepper. This stew has plenty of delicious juices for the cauli rice to soak up!
I usually boil then mash the cauliflower, but today I prepared it differently. I grated the raw cauliflower using a box grater (a little messy but worth it!), then tossed it with 1 T melted coconut oil, salt and pepper, and roasted it at 400 F for 20 minutes. I’ve been roasting cauli rice more lately since I tried it for my Baked Cauliflower “Fried” Rice. I prefer it roasted these days because it just mellows out the cauliflower flavor a bit. Dan prefers it this way all the time because he’s not a major fan of the cauliflower flavor. Roasting always mellows that out, caramelizes, and sweetens it.
Since you all know I don’t follow recipes well, this is my version of the Bon Appetit recipe. It’s not much different, maybe a few shortcuts and tweaks. But again, feel free to follow the original recipe here. Enjoy! (It makes excellent leftovers too!!)
- 1 onion (cut in half: one half left intact, the other half diced)
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (divided into 2 T and 1 T)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (or ½ t ground cumin)
- 2 teaspoon salt (divided into 1 t and 1 t)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 pounds chicken breast
- 2 pounds tomatillos, outer husk removed, rinsed, and halved
- 2 Anaheim peppers, halved, seeded
- 2 poblano peppers, halved, seeded
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- In a medium pot, add the intact half of the onion, garlic, cilantro stems, 2 T apple cider vinegar, cumin seeds, 1 t salt, ½ t pepper, and chicken. Fill with water until everything is covered.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pan, let cool for about 10 minutes.
- Strain broth, and reserve for the sauce.
- Shred chicken with a fork into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Place tomatillos, Anaheims, and poblanos on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook for 15 minutes. (If not browned when done, broil on high for 5-10 minutes.)
- Place veggies into a blender (or food processor). Add ½ cup of the strained broth from cooking the chicken to start, adding more only as needed to keep things moving in the blender. Pulse to achieve a thick, chunky, sauce.
- In a medium pan, add coconut oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook about 5 minutes or until tender.
- To the onions, add the blended sauce, shredded chicken, 1 T apple cider vinegar, and 1 t salt. Heat over low until chicken heated through.
- Serve with Cauliflower Rice and garnish with cilantro (or substitute parsley).
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