Early yesterday evening, after having made a delicious batch of salsa verde and then writing out ahead of time how I planned to incorporate it into soft tacos for our dinner, I found myself being gently persuaded to go ahead and get dinner on the table.
I don't mind hearing about it when folks have found their appetites. I like feeding people when they are actually hungry. It certainly makes for better overall receptivity for whatever it is I am cooking.
Last night I was hungry, my husband was hungry, I'd been thinking about and writing about food for a while before I got the actual cooking started. By the time I put together the tacos and piled them on a plate, I found myself in a mood not conducive to artful arrangement.
I had reached a drooling-for-my-dinner stage and felt virtuously self sacrificial getting a photo at all. In the cool of the following morning, I am little more ready to apologize for the less than glossy photo shoot state of the plate. It really does not quite do the eye popping color combinations justice.
I stuck to my original plan and the resulting the tacos were amazing yet so very easy. I seasoned skinless boneless chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic, grilled them, then shredded the meat a bit, tossing it with the salsa verde.I sauteéd sliced onions in a bit of olive oil. I rough chopped an heirloom tomato. I pulled arugula out of the refrigerator and I crumbled up some cotija cheese to sprinkle on top. I used my new go-to tortillas, a variety prepared locally that you finish up on your own hot skillet (or comal) so they are fresh and hot when you are ready for them.
I combined the ingredients in the tortillas, folded, cut in half, and served.
The salsa verde as a sauce for the shredded grilled chicken was rich, complex, it stood up beautifully to the peppery bite of the arugula and the tang of the cotija cheese and yet did not get at all in the way of the explosion of tastiness that a beautifully ripened heirloom tomato brings to the mix. The flavors layered together brilliantly, with a slightly difference balance presenting itself in each bite. Yum yum and yum.
If the salsa is this good on plain old broiled chicken, I can imagine it would play very nicely alongside fish or shrimp (or pork or anything you wanted to drape it over).
Folks, this salsa is a winner. Easy to prepare, lending itself to any number of applications. This is a recipe I definitely will be reaching for whenever tomatillos are in season and locally available. Give it a try - you won't regret it!
3 comments:
That looks good... mmnnn...
day four of fasting! and all this food porn is making me want to eat!!
I am totally in awe of the willpower it must take to fast as you are doing.
I've never made it (or tried even) to make it past one day without eating.
How can you work around so much beautiful food and not crumble like a 3 day old peanut butter cookie?
it's not that hard. you know.. when the will is evoked...
it used to be hard to not break down at the smell of deep fried tofu. there's just something about that southern fried tofu in the deli. as an ominvore, it's one of my veggie guilty pleasures.
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