I love tomatillos, but haven't cooked with them very much. My mom went to a farmer's market and bought a bunch of them (since she felt bad that no one was buying from this particular vendor ;) so she shared the love and gave me half. I had just gotten an email from Simple Recipes with this recipe for a tomatillo chicken stew, so I gave it a try. I love so many different things about fall, and one of my favorites if being able to cook tasty soup recipes! I actually used the ready-cooked rotisserie chicken from Costco and it turned out great! Has anyone seen the 4-pound bag of rotisserie chicken meat at Costco? I'm in love. (Thank you, Tracie!). I swear I'll never boil & shred chicken again! This is now one of my favorite soups. It has such a rich, yummy flavor, with the perfect amound of spice (we like some kick, so it was perfect for us). Don't be scared of it, if you haven't cooked with tomatillos before, they're easy. You just peel and roast them. Hope you like it!

Tomatillo Chicken Stew

Tomatillo Sauce

1 1/2 lbs tomatillos
1-2 jalapeño chile peppers, or 2-3 serrano chopped chili peppers (stems discarded)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 clove minced garlic
Pinch of sugar

Stew

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped (I used purple)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cup chicken stock (I added another 1 1/2 cups to make it go further)
2 cups tomatillo sauce (see recipe above)
1 teaspoon dry oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh)
1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro

Directions:

First, make the tomatillo sauce. Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse. Cut the tomatillos in half and place them cut-side down on an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Roast them (on broil) for 5-7 minutes until lightly blackened. Let cool. Place the tomatillos (and the juices released), chile peppers, garlic, salt, lime juice and sugar in a blender, and pulse until well blended.

Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil in a large pot on medium high heat and saute *chicken, until nearly done. Remove from pan. (*Or use rotisserie chicken)

Add the onions to the pan, and a little more olive oil. Add ground cumin. Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.

Add the chicken, tomatillo sauce, chicken stock, and oregano to the pan. Stir. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook (partially covered) for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. During last minute of cooking, add cilantro.

Serve over white rice, top with sour cream. This is also great with my favorite multigrain tortilla chips (from Costco).