Tomatillo Chicken Stew

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos
• 1-2 jalapeño chile peppers, or 2-3 serrano chili peppers, stems discarded, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Pinch of sugar
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 cups tomatillo sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
• 1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro

Directions

1. To make the tomatillo sauce, pull off the papery husks and rinse the tomatillos well. Halve them, then set them on a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil, cut sides facing down. Slide the pan under the broiler for 5-7 minutes, until the tomatillos are charred here and there. Let them cool until you can handle them.
2. Transfer the tomatillos and all their collected juices to a blender. Add the chile peppers, garlic, salt, lime juice and sugar, then pulse until the sauce is thoroughly combined. If you are getting ahead, chill it until you need it.
3. For the chicken, in a large, thick-bottomed pot, warm a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat, stopping just short of smoke. Blot the cubed chicken pieces dry with paper towels, then season them with salt and pepper.
4. Brown the chicken in batches, adding more olive oil as necessary, so the pot never gets crowded. Let the pieces take color on 2 sides. When you add them, leave space between pieces so they sear instead of steam, and resist moving them until 1 side is browned. Flip with tongs or a metal spatula, then leave them alone again until the other side is browned too. You are only building color here, not cooking the chicken all the way through.
5. Lift the chicken out of the pot and turn the heat to medium. You should have a good layer of browned bits, the fond, clinging to the bottom of the pan.
6. Add the onions to the pot, along with another 1 tablespoon or 2 of olive oil if the pan looks dry, which it probably will. Stir in the ground cumin and coriander. Cook for a few minutes, stirring now and then, until the onions soften and pull up the browned chicken bits from the bottom. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds longer, just until fragrant.
7. Return the browned chicken to the pot, then add the tomatillo sauce, chicken stock, and oregano. Stir everything together, bring it to a boil, and drop the heat so it simmers. Cook with the lid partly on for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the cilantro during the last minute or so of cooking.
8. Serve over white rice, with sour cream alongside if you want to soften the chile heat. As it cools, the stew will thicken.