This is another of my favorite recipes and one that many friends and family beg me to make. The sauce is came up with, using ideas from a friend in Mexico and somethings I came up with on my own. These are delicious as part of a Mexican meal.
When preparing the ingredients for the sauce you can either roast them on the grill like I do, or you can roast them in a hot oven or even just boil them on top of the stove for a few minutes.
Salsa:
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked but left whole
1 small white onion, peeled and cut into quarters
2-? serrano or jalepeno chiles with the stem end cut out (vary the amount according to how picante you like the sauce, 3-4 are about what I use)
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
I spray everything with some cooking spray, then put in a grill pan and grill on my gas grill set on high, turning every few minutes until everything is blistered and has black patches here and there. If roasting in the oven, again spray with cooking spray and put on a cookie sheet or 9x13 inch cake pan and roast at 450 until everything is well browned. If boiling, place in a sauce pan, just barely cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Drain before proceeding with recipe. When they are done, place everything into a blender, add half of a bunch of cilantro and a teaspoon of salt. Blend until fairly smooth. When blended, heat 2 tbsp. oil in heavy saucepan, when hot pour in the blended sauce and stir. Allow to simmer about 10-15 minutes until it begins to thicken a bit. Pour in 1 cup of heavy cream and continue to simmer another 15 minutes or so. Remove from the heat.
Chicken: (can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or just use any leftover boiled, roasted or grilled chicken)
2 pounds of boneless chicken thighs
Sprinkle heavily with about 1/2 tsp. of each of the following: garlic powder, crushed red pepper, oregano, thyme, cumin. (or just use any other spices you like best)
Roast at about 450 for 30-40 minutes or until falling apart tender. Cool, then cut into small cubes or shred.
Spoon a small amount of the warm sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish. Heat about 2 dozen corn tortillas just enough to make them pliable. Brush sauce on one side of the tortilla, add a couple spoonfuls of diced/shredded chicken, about the same amount of shredded cheese (I like the Mexican blend, but my priest friend in Monterrey says to use mozzarella, monterey jack is good and cheddar works too, it just needs to be a good melting cheese), then roll up as tightly as you can. Place in the baking dish seam side down. Repeat until the pan is full. Top with remaining sauce and then sprinkle the top heavily with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
