Chilaquiles Verde Verde
Chilaquiles rojos or verdes are crispy tortilla strips, topped with salsa and cheese. In a previous blog, I published a recipe for Chilaquiles Rojos; they’re made from a tomato base but the Verdes use green tomatillos for the base. Both are great for Sunday brunch, breakfast, lunch, dinner and can be served as an appetizer.
Tomatillos have been cultivated for millennia and were a staple food in Mayan and Aztec (Mexica) communities. Their flavor is bright and citrusy but they are inconsistent in sweetness. Cooked they make a a traditional base for salsa and sauces but they tend to lose their brightness in flavor and color. Salsa verde derives it’s primary flavor from the chile so if you don’t make it a hot sauce, the balance of flavors is diminished. There are some light weights in my family when it comes to hot chile; to compensate for less chile, therefore, less flavor, I added roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and fresh spinach for more color. See the notes section below for an idea of the fanciful variations of chilaquiles. Let’s get started.
Ingredients
Serves 4
8 corn tortillas
½ cup canola or vegetable oil
1 lb tomatillos, peeled and rinsed
1 clove of garlic
½ white onion, about ½ cup.
1 serrano or jalapeño pepper (increment per your taste)
8 strands cilantro plus extra for garnish
2 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
Optional
1 tablespoon roasted pumpkin seeds ground in a mill or coffee grinder.
2 oz spinach
Preparation
Tortilla Chips
Crispy chips are best achieved by using corn tortillas that are dried out. To do that, use kitchen scissors, knife or serrated pastry cutter, cut each tortilla into ¾ inch strips. Set out the chips on a baking tray from 8 hours to overnight or use the dehydrate feature of your oven. My oven features a “dehydrate” function at 140 degrees and they are done within 1 hour and 30 minutes. Halfway through the drying process, turn the chips over for uniform drying.
Pour oil into medium skillet to a depth of ¼ inch and heat the oil on medium high heat. Oil is ready when a small piece of tortilla placed in the oil sizzles. Place a paper towel onto a large plate and have several other paper towels ready. Place a batch of strips into the skillet in a single layer. Use a slotted spoon to eliminate overlapping and to make sure all sides get coated with oil. Fry until the chips are just golden in color and crispy approximately a minute or more. Remove the chips from the oil to the paper toweled plate and lightly salt. Repeat the process in batches. Chips can be prepared a day ahead.
Sauce
Add the tomatillos, onion, garlic and chile into 6 cups of boiling water and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until soft. Remove the ingredients and place in a blender jar and allow to cool. Add cilantro and a cup of cooking water to the blender jar and liquify all the ingredients. Stir in the ground pumpkin seed then salt and pepper to taste. Sauce can be prepared a day ahead.
Plating
Warm the salsa, and pour over strips and sprinkle with cheese and cilantro.
Notes
There are infinite styles of chilaquiles and you can get fanciful with my basic recipe. Select a chile sauce of your choice. You can use chipotle, salsa verde (green), guajillo chile puree, roasted pasilla rajas (strips) in cheese sauce, etc, etc. Choose a cheese – cotija, queso fresco, monterey jack. Top chilaquiles with shredded chicken or pork and you can make them crispy or wet. That is, the tortilla strips can be totally immersed in sauce or served crispy by pouring sauce at the time of plating. I have two additional chile sauce recipes published in this blog that work great for chilaquiles. Click to link to my salsa recipes – Red Chile and Tomato Lime.
Buen Provecho
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