Chicken Tinga

I made this impromptu to take to a friend's house. RAVE REVIEWS. I didn't follow a recipe, and because it was impromptu, I had to improvise on the ingredients. Sad to say, tomatillos aren't one of the usual staples in my pantry :) The options for tinga are endless. Sandwiches, pizza topping, rice, pasta, etc. It can go anywhere. Let's see if I can tell you what I did. It was delicious!! Spicy, but delish!

This is how it's supposed to be done. Saute, puree', etc.

• 3 tablespoons of safflower or corn oil
• 1/2 white onion, slivered (about 1/4 pound)
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 8 roma tomatoes, rinsed (about 2 pounds)
• 2 tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed (about 1/4 pound)
• 1/2 teaspoon of crumbled dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of sea or kosher salt, more or less to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons of sauce from chipotle chiles in adobo. Add whole chiles if more heat desired.
• 5 cups of shredded chicken


This is what actually happened:

Saute' chopped sweet onion and fresh garlic in veg oil for 5-6 minutes, til translucent and fragrant. Add about 8 chopped and finely diced Roma tomatoes (If you're in a pinch, you can use 2 cans of the tomatoes w green chiles). Add a touch of lime juice, oregano, salt, pepper and maybe a 1/2 cup or so of salsa verde. The verde will replace your tomatillos and add in some of your missing seasonings. Stir it well, then add in 2 Tbs of adobo sauce and one well-minced chipotle pepper. There's your heat. If you don't want the heat, go without the pepper. Add just the adobo. Simmer 10-12 minutes. The color will deepen and the flavors marry the longer it sits. Next, toss in your chicken. I used 2 boxes of the MSF Chicken Grillers, nicely shredded. Simmer another 5 minutes or so, until the chicken has absorbed some of the juice. It's ready when it turns saucy instead of soupy :) We served this on top of haystacks, and it was a huge hit. Unexpected flavor, really easy inexpensive recipe, tastes like it took all day. BINGO. I'm going to refine the ingredient list and go ahead and add it to the Bistro book. Those of you who already have a copy, I'll just print it off and drop it off next time I see you :) Enjoy! :)