Mario Unclogged: Leo Maya's Chicken with Green Sauce

Recipes

Mario Unclogged: Leo Maya's Chicken with Green Sauce

Posted by Mario Batali, September 13, 2007 at 4:00 PM

Our Acapulco-born babysitter, Leo, makes some of my favorite things to eat. At Christmas she makes turkey in a dark mole with toasted sesame seeds. In winter, she makes great enchiladas with soft, never-fried tortillas and a braised beef filling with queso fresco. She makes great albondigas (meatballs) with rice and beef or pork. And this week, she took some seasoned pork and made a kind of chili or sloppy joe mix with toasted dried corn that we ate as sandwiches on toasted burger buns.

But of all the things she makes, our favorite is a killer chicken and green sauce that she makes once a week.

It's great to watch a natural cook because she does not consult a recipe—she just knows. And that's why some of the best real cooks in my restaurant kitchens are from Mexico or Latin America—they watched their families make great food from scratch every day. They simply understand that sofrito goes in first when you make a braised dish or that coaxing flavor out of something lean sometimes means to cook it very well done and chopping into small pieces and dressing it with citrus and scallions.

That said, this is the easiest thing to watch and make. She takes 2 pounds of chicken drumsticks and thighs and removes the skin and sets them aside. Then she takes 3 pounds of husked tomatillos, 6 cloves garlic, and 2 serrano chiles and places them in boiling water for 2 minutes and then drains them. Still warm, she places them into the blender with the juice and zest of 3 limes and 1 bunch of cilantro and blends until just smooth. She seasons it with salt (a lot) and then puts the sauce in a pan with the raw chicken, bringing it to a boil and then simmering it for 25 minutes. After that, she finishes it with the juice of another lime and a handful of chopped scallions.

Wowsers!

The boys eat it with warm tortillas and Frank's Hot Sauce. I even like it cold with a good splash of chipotle Tabasco for breakfast—if there's any left that is.

View other entries from Mario Unclogged.

About the author: Mario Batali has created a thriving restaurant empire and has established himself as a top restaurateur. Together with his partner, Joe Bastianich, he operates seven New York City hotspots. Mario splits his time between New York City's Greenwich Village and northern Michigan with his wife, Susan Cahn, of Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and their two sons. More Mario: mariobatali.com.

15 Comments | Tags: chicken, Mario Batali, Mexican, tomatillos

15 Comments:

Oh my ... and here I was trying to think of what to make for the whole family Saturday evening. This is it. Thanks for such a great-sounding recipe! What's cool here is that I can hear the voice of Chef Mario in these posts with all the intonations in-place.

LunaPierCook at 4:13PM on 09/13/07

Damn--I can't believe you guys snagged Maestro Batali. Nice get!

This sounds AMAZING. I can't wait to try it.

So, Mario, am I allowed to ask about a recipe of yours that I've lost and have been trying to find? You did it on "Molto Mario" years (YEARS!) ago, and I haven't seen it in your cookbooks--for cippolini onions braised in tomato sauce and balsamic with tons of fresh rosemary. I've been craving it and can't figure out how to re-create it...

klg19 at 4:23PM on 09/13/07

Wow... I am definitely going to make that.

zach@midtownlunch at 4:59PM on 09/13/07

Oh my...that sounds like pure heaven to me.

ErikaWaz at 9:27PM on 09/13/07

Wow. What an amazing short but sweet (and revealing) look into Mario's food world away from prying camera lenses and probing pens. Nice. Loved it. Curious to know what happens to the removed chicken skins after Leo's made her Chicken in Green Sauce. Mmm. Warm tortillas...

JustNancy at 10:22PM on 09/13/07

I live in an area full of Mexican cooking. So many wonderful places to shop and pick up good ingredients. It is also mushroom country.

Being italian I understand learning to cook using touch, taste and sight. Many of my families recipes were from the old country, good staple meals with what good ingredients you could find fresh at the market.

It always warms my heart to hear in this day and time period people enjoying a good home cooked meal. Nothing makes me happier than to cook for my family. I believe that there is joy in the giving. It is also the only art form I have ever been good at.

I am going to try this one.

JerzeeTomato at 1:56AM on 09/14/07

It sounds delicious...but three pounds of tomatillos for 2 pounds of bone-in meat? Is that right?

lemons at 8:01PM on 09/14/07

I made this dish this evening, but with five pounds of chicken. Here's how it turned out.

LunaPierCook at 7:14PM on 09/15/07

I made the dish this evening as well. My changes were as follows. Zest of 3 small limes and juice of 1 (my lime was very juicy). I felt the sauce did not need anymore lime. I could not find any serranos so I used 2 poblanos. I added 4 shakes of chipotle tabasco to the sauce as well. The aroma was amazing. I took the chicken out after the 25 mins and then reduced the sauce down a bit while I shredded it.
I served the chicken on trader joes tortillas with sour cream.
It was mildly spicy and had the right amount of garlic, tangy tomatillo and the scallions were a good finish.
Rick Bayless has a recipe much like this (Mexican Everyday) but the peppers get roasted, onions/garlic are sauteed in the pan.

The recipe takes almost no effort which I really liked.
I suggest everyone make this.

JerzeeTomato at 4:15AM on 09/16/07

I made the recipe this weekend and it turned out amazing! Here are the results: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daryck/sets/72157602124222096/

I substituted jalapenos for serrano's since my grocery store didn't carry them. I bumped up the the amount of jalapenos to match the spiciness of serranos so the sauce ended up being pretty spicy but not overpowering. I shredded the chicken and served it on corn tortillas with queso blanco, chopped scallion greens and a squeeze of lime. I also used the rest of the scallion whites in the tomatillo sauce to add some additional flavor.

This dish is addictive and so easy to make. I highly recommend it!

daryck at 10:16PM on 09/23/07

I made this last night, and it was fantastic! Picked up 3 lbs. of tomatillos and garlic at the Greenmarket, serrano chiles and limes from a nearby market, and followed the recipe as is. I normally take creative liberties with recipes, but this is a new dish for me so I decided to follow it all the way. The sauce was quite watery when it was done, so I took out the chicken and reduced the sauce a little. I stripped the meat and used it for an enchilada-style casserole, used maybe half the sauce, with corn tortillas and jack cheese. Yum! The tortillas soaked up just enough of the liquid to make them soft, not soggy, and the flavors were amazing. Can't wait to make this again! Mario, keep the recipes coming!

capricornpig at 11:39AM on 09/24/07

I too made this last night with 3 pounds of tomatillos and one serrano (I'm afraid of chilies) from the Greenmarket. Certainly the juice of 3 limes was plenty, served it will fried potatoes and brocolli. Just a great dish and so easy....and healthy! Thanks Mario!!!! I look forward to more recipes to add to my Batali recipe collection.

chanbny at 2:04PM on 10/01/07

klg19, here is a link to the recipe you are looking for:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_14975,00.html

LearP at 12:39AM on 11/24/07

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!! I am 52 years old, and this is by far the best chicken dish i have ever had, anywhere, in my entire life!!!!!!!
I added 1/2 teasp.cumin, 1 tomato, 1 anaheim chile, 2 oz olive oil, a dash of rice vinegar, 1/2 cup green olives and 1 onion to the simmer process. I also added 3 serrano chiles--the top of my head is still sweating-but worth every bite!

anne5025 at 7:35PM on 01/23/08

So, I had to make this with regular red tomatoes, because my grocery store was mysteriously out of tomatillos. The good news is that it was still delicious! I added more chili peppers, because I like it spicier, and I also added half a white onion. I served it with warm corn tortillas, feta cheese, scallions, and Frank's Hot Sauce--it was fabulous and easy.

Just one question: what kind of pan did everyone else cook this in?

Junie at 9:01AM on 01/26/08

Add a comment:

Previewing your comment:

HTML Hints

Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>

Comment Guidelines

Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.

If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.