A piquant and savory chicken chili verde with poblano peppers and tomatillos. So quick and easy to put together in your Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker.
I think tomatillos are among the most underappreciated vegetables. Well, technically they are fruits, but that is not why they are underappreciated. People mistakenly think they are related to tomatoes or are baby tomatoes or unripe tomatoes, but in fact, they are none of those things. Tomatillos are nightshades.
(Some people – most famously Tom Brady and his wife Gisele – avoid nightshades because they are supposed to cause inflammation. This may be true, but some of my favorite foods in the world are nightshades, so thank goodness I am not a professional athlete or supermodel.)
Tomatillos feature prominently in Mexican cuisine and add their distinctive tart flavor to all kinds of green salsas and stews. To prepare tomatillos, simply remove the papery husk and rinse off the sticky residue. You can chop them up and use them raw in salsa where their bracing, tart flavor shines or mellow them out a bit by cooking them in liquid until soft.
One of my favorite ways to use tomatillos is in a piquant chili verde made with green chiles (duh) like poblanos and jalapeños. In Mexican restaurants, chili verde is often made with pork, but I think that it works perfectly well with chicken thighs. This chili verde is not spicy at all, but really bright and flavorful.
It used to take me several steps to make my chicken chili verde. I had to roast the poblanos; cook the tomatillos and then puree them into a sauce; brown the chicken and finally simmer the chicken in the tomatillo sauce. Was it worth all the work? Sure. My family loved the bright flavor and appreciated the break from more typical tomato-based chilis. But it was definitely a weekend project.
Now, thanks to my Instant Pot, I can make this same chili verde, as flavorful as always, with far fewer steps. In fact, this dish just went from Sunday supper to any-night-of-the-week fare!
I still recommend roasting the poblanos peppers on the stove or in the oven before adding them to the sauce. It is extra work, but the roasting the poblanos not only allows you to remove the tough skin, but it adds a nice smoky flavor. This step can be done in advance and only adds about 15 minutes to the total time.
I begin the stew by sauteeing the aromatics – onion, jalapeno peppers and garlic – right in the Instant Pot. (Pro tip: while the roasted poblano peppers are resting, begin sauteing the onions in the Instant Pot to save time.)
Then I add the tomatillos, roasted poblanos and the raw chicken, plus some chicken broth. Fifteen minutes at high pressure is all it takes to soften the tomatillos and cook the chicken. You then remove the chicken and shred it and use an immersion blender to puree the sauce, again right in the Instant Pot. Return the shredded chicken to the stew and that’s it! Chicken chili verde in record time. And very few dirty pots and pans.
I love to serve this chili over rice and garnish it with some radishes for crunch, a squeeze of lime to accentuate the brightness and maybe a dollop of cool sour cream or chopped buttery avocado. With Cinco de Mayo right around the corner and tomatillo season beginning, it is the perfect time to add this chicken chili verde to your Instant Pot repertoire.
Ingredients
- 4 poblano peppers
- 2 TB vegetable oil
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1.5 lbs. tomatillos, husked and quartered
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Juice of two limes
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast the poblano peppers by placing them in a dry skillet set over high heat. Blacken the first side and then turn until all sides are blackened.
- Place roasted poblanos in a heat-proof bowl and cover. Let stand for ten minutes. Once peppers are cool enough to handle, remove skin, stems and seeds and dice. set aside.
- Add the oil to the Instant Pot and select the Sauté function on low. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and sauté until softened, about three minutes. Season with salt.
- Add the jalapenos, garlic, cumin and coriander and stir to combine. Saute until the jalapeno is softened and the spices fragrant, about three to five minutes.
- Add the diced poblano peppers and tomatillos. Place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and add the chicken broth.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, ensuring that the pressure release is closed. Select the Manual setting and set the cooking time for 15 minutes at high pressure.
- When the cooking program finishes, allow the pressure to release naturally for five minutes and then release the remaining pressure manually.
- Remove the chicken with tongs and place in a heat-proof bowl. Allow to cool slightly.
- Puree the sauce in the Instant Pot using an immersion blender. (Alternatively, transfer the sauce in batches to a food processor or high-speed blender and puree. Return to the Instant Pot.)
- Shred the chicken using two forks. Return the meat to the Instant Pot.
- Add the lime juice and taste, adding additional salt if needed.
- If the sauce is too thin for your liking, turn on the Saute function to high and bring stew to a boil. Allow to boil until reduced and thickened.
- Serve over rice.
