I spent much of my childhood in Southern California, where the Mexican border was only a short drive away, making the coast of Baja a frequent family destination for exploring and indulging in some amazing regional foods. While living in the Yucatan a few years later, I began to realize how incredibly diverse the cuisine of Mexico actually is and that the food I loved in the Yucatan had similarities but was also very different from the foods I had loved in Baja as a child. One thing is certain, its influence is deeply rooted in the foods and flavors I enjoy and prepare today, especially my love of chiles. This is my adaptation of Chicken Tinga (tinga de pollo), a shredded chicken dish bathed in a mildly spicy, smoky sauce, served on homemade corn tortillas and dressed with avocado slices, a hint of sour cream and a sprinkling of cotija cheese.
The two shining stars in this dish are the chipotle chiles (smoked red jalapenos) and tomatillos, those sticky little green fruits (a native of the ground cherry) that resemble tomatoes and are covered in a thin, papery husk. ##[The popularity to grown in SW cause/effect doesn’t seem noteworthy/is redundant] This pre-Columbian fruit is now so popular in many parts of the U.S. that it’s grown in the southwestern states and can be found in many American supermarkets that carry Latin foods. It is easy to grow in a warm, dry climate, with prolific blossoms. The fruit looks like an unripe tomato when sliced open. It is tangy and tart when raw, but transforms when roasted and cooked, lending a wonderfully complex, acidic flavor and smoothie-like consistency to the sauce.
I prefer cooking the chicken (usually breasts) in a pressure cooker with an onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic for 12-14 minutes. I then throw the cooked onion and garlic into the food processor when making the sauce, to build on the flavor. I still use the diced onion and garlic used in the recipe. You can use roasted chicken or any shredded chicken you have on hand, as long as it’s not heavily seasoned.
Both the cooled tomatillos and tomatoes are pulsed in a food processor until smooth.
Now it’s time to cook this into a sauce. After mixing the pureed tomatillos mixture, spices and additional seasonings together in a 3-4 quart (2.8-3.8 L) pot, I stir everything together. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat before lowering the heat to low to simmer for 25 minutes. Stir often to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pan.
When the sauce has cooked, thickened a bit and melded all the flavors together, add the shredded chicken, stirring to completely coat with the sauce. Cover and remove from heat.
Making the corn tortillas is very easy and they taste so much better than the store bought ones. A tortilla press, like the Victoria 85008 Cast Iron Tortilla Press on Amazon make really fast work of pressing the dough into beautiful little golden rounds. We dry ‘cook’ them in a very hot cast iron pan that is brushed lightly with oil. They can be used after this initial dry cooking, but my family likes them lightly fried in 1″ (2.5 cm) of vegetable oil for a crispier texture. Either way, they are delicious.
The beauty of this dish and many latin foods is that there’s a continuum of building layers of flavors, while cooking all the way through the addition of varied garnishes. The finale is a colorful feast to behold and indulge in, bringing out the nuances of each ingredient that work and play together beautifully.
| Servings |
| 4-6servings |
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- 3-4Tbs oilvegetable
- 1/2 onion, brown or yellowdiced
- 2 garlic cloveschopped
- 6 roma tomatoes
- 2 tomatilloshusked
- 1/2tsp oregano, driedor 1 tsp fresh
- 1/4tsp marjoram, dried
- 1/4tsp thyme, driedor 1/2 tsp fresh
- 1/4tsp black pepperfreshly ground
- 1 - 1 1/2cups chipotle chile in adobo sauceoptional
- 4 - 6oz chuncky chipotle salsasee recipe below or notes for substitutions
- 5cups shredded chickensee Shredded Chicken section
- 2large chicken breastfor pre-cooked, see notes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 onion, brown or yellow
- 3/4tsp saltsea or kosher
- 4 - 6cups water
- 10-12small corn tortillashomemade (recipe below) or store bought
- 1can (15 oz) black beansdrained & rinsed
- 1whole avocadodiced
- 4-6ounces cheesecotija or queso fresco, crumbled
- 1/2 cup cilantro (coriander leaves)chopped
- 1medium limesliced, optional
- 4-6 radishessliced, optional
- 1-2 peppers, freshjalapeno or Fresno, sliced, optional
- If pressure cooking your own chicken, place cleaned chicken breasts, onion, garlic and salt in the pressure pot, covering with enough water to cover three-quarters of the meat. Pressure cook according to manufacturers directions for 12-14 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes, covered. Release remaining pressure and remove lid when all pressure has been released, according to manufacturers directions. Remove the breasts, onion and garlic with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl to cool. When cooled, shred the chicken, cover and set aside. Refrigerate the meat if preparing more than 45 minutes after cooling. Keep the cooked onion and garlic for the sauce.
- Place the tomatoes and tomatillos in a 3-4 quart (2.8-3.8 L) saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and cooked through, but not falling apart.
- Remove the tomatoes and tomatillos with a slotted spoon, and place in the bowl of a blender or food processor.Add the cooked onion and garlic from the chicken, if using. Pulse or blend until somewhat smooth and without chunks.
- Heat the oil in a deep 4-5 quart (3.8 - 4.8 L) pot over medium-low heat. When hot but not smoking, stir in the onion, cooking until translucent, about 4-6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, marjoram and thyme and cook until fragrant and the onion becomes lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomatillo sauce and Chunky Chipotle Salsa (recipe below), mixing well. If substituting chipotle chiles in adobo sauce for the salsa, see recipe notes below. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally, until deep red in color and slightly thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken, mixing until thoroughly coated with the sauce.Continue cooking on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is heated through and moist, but not runny with liquid.
- Heat the tortillas on a hot cast iron pan or comal, over medium heat, if using store bought. If frying lightly to crisp - in a small frying pan slightly larger in diameter than the tortillas, heat the vegetable oil (about 1" (2.5 cm) deep), over medium heat. When the oil just begins to form bubbles around the outer edges, gently place a tortilla in the hot oil. Cook for 20-30 seconds, just until turning golden brown, flip over gently with tongs, cooking an additional 15-20 seconds. Remove from the pan, and place on 2-3 layers of paper towels to drain. Wrap in a kitchen towel or place in a tortilla warm to keep warm while frying the remaining tortillas.
- Assembling the tostadas - place a serving of the chicken tinga mixture on a tortilla, top with some black beans, avocado pieces, crema/ sour cream, crumbled cheese and cilantro. For additional heat top with some sliced jalapenos. Serve with sliced radishes and limes.
Substitutions -
Chicken - Any cooked chicken (breast meat) can be used, as long as it can be shredded and is not heavily seasoned.
Chunky Chipotle Salsa - Chipotle chiles in adobo can be substituted. Use 1-2 finely chopped chipotle chiles and 2-3 tables of the adobo sauce mixed with 2-3 tablespoon of water.
Black beans - substitute with refried beans. When assembling, spread the beans on the tortilla first, then top with the chicken tinga and remaining ingredients.
| Servings |
| 10-12tortillas |
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- 2cups (255 g) corn flourlike Maseca brand (not cornmeal)
- 1 3/4cups (1.65 L) waterroom temperature
- pinch saltkosher or sea
- tortilla pressoptional (see notes)
- plastic bagused w/ tortilla press (thicker than plastic wrap)
- Begin heating a comal or ungreased cast iron skillet over a medium-low heat about 5-7 minutes before cooking to heat thoroughly. The tortillas will stick to the pan if not hot enough.
- Mix the flour, salt and water together in a large mixing bowl. When thoroughly mixed, place the dough on a lightly floured flat surface and knead for several minutes until smooth and free of lumps (like Play-Doh). If too dry/ crumbly add a few drops of water at a time until moist but not sticky. If making ahead, cover the dough with a moist towel, as it will dry out quickly.
- Cut out 2 circles from a plastic zip/ sandwich bag, each slightly larger than the diameter of the tortilla press. Place one piece of plastic on the bottom circle of the tortilla press and lightly dust with corn flour.
- Roll a piece of the dough (masa) into a ball, about 1 1/2" (38 mm) in diameter. Place the masa ball on the plastic on the bottom half of the tortilla press. Place the second circle of lightly floured plastic on top of the masa ball and press the top half of the tortilla press down to flatten the dough into a flat disk. Jiggle the press a little, while pressing down, to fully flatten the dough into a round disk. Open the press and remove the top sheet of plastic. Lift the bottom plastic with the tortilla and peel the tortilla from the plastic.
- Place the tortilla on the pre-heated hot comal/ skillet and allow to cook for 30-40 seconds without moving it. When the cooked side become opaque with small golden brown spots and does not stick to the pan, flip with a spatula. Allow to cook another 30-40 seconds, until all of the opaque/ slightly white areas turn golden with small brown spots. Flip over one last time, allowing the tortilla to puff up a bit, about 10-15 seconds.
- Place the tortillas in a tortilla warmer or wrapped in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm until while preparing and cooking the remaining tortillas. If making ahead, wrap the tortillas in a kitchen towel and an airtight container or plastic zip bag for 1-2 days. Reheat on a pre-heated, hot comal/ skillet for 30-40 seconds per side before serving.
Rolling the dough - you can roll the dough into 8" (20 cm) circles by placing masa balls between two sheets of parchment paper before rolling out.
Tortilla Press - the Victoria 8-inch Tortilla Press is the one we use.
Comal - the Lodge 10.5" Cast Iron Griddle is what we use to cook tortillas.
Tortilla warmer - the Imusa 805" Tortilla Warmer is perfect for these homemade corn tortillas.
| Servings |
| 5-6pints |
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- 8cups (1.9 L) tomatoes
- 4cups (950 mL) sweet peppersdiced
- 1 - 2 onionsminced
- 4cloves garlicminced
- 1 hot pepper freshminced, jalapeno, Fresno or Thai
- 1 - 2 chipotle peppersdried or in adobo sauce *
- 1cup (250 mL) cider vinegar5% acidity
- 2tsp saltsea or Kosher
- 1Tbs sugaroptional
- 2tsp paprikasmoked or sweet
- 16oz (450 g) tomato paste
- 1/4cup (60 mL) cilantrochopped
- Blanch tomatoes, remove skin, then chop. You can also process the tomatoes through a sauce master without blanching them. See notes below. *
- If using dried chipotle peppers, soak in 1/2 cup (120 ml) hot water for 15 minutes to soften. Drain, reserving liquid and mince. If using chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (found in small cans in most grocery stores), mince 1-2 peppers with 1 tablespoon of sauce.
- Place all of the ingredients, except for the cilantro, in a large non-reactive pot (stainless steel or enamel). Add the reserved chipotle soaking water, if using dried peppers. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer, uncovered for 1 -1 1/2 hours and slightly thickened. Stir occasionally.
- While the sauce is simmering, prepare water bath canner, jars and lids. Refer to our Water Bath Canning link in the notes below for detailed instructions.
- Stir the cilantro into the sauce. Ladle the hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch (1 cm) headspace. Remove air bubbles, adjusting headspace, if necessary. Wipe rim, center lid on jar and screw band down until resistance is felt. Increase to finger-tip tight.
- Place jars in the boiling water in canner, making sure they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for a full 20 minutes (adjust time for higher altitudes). Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars to cool. Allow water on jar lids to evaporate rather than drying off. When completely cooled, store in cool, dark level space.
- Salsa can also be kept in airtight jars, without processing in a waterbath canner, for 2-3 weeks.
Water Bath Canning Instructions & Altitude Chart - Water Bath Preserving for High Acid Foods
Acidity - the vinegar must be 5% acidity (acidity should be printed on container label) to maintain a food safe acidity level for waterbath canning for high acid foods.
* Dried Chipotle peppers - soak in hot water for 15 minutes, then mince. Reserve the soaking liquid.
* Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce - (found in small cans in most grocery stores), mash or mince 1-2 peppers. The remaining peppers and sauce can be frozen in an airtight container or zip bag, if used within 4-6 weeks.
Tomatoes - Instead of blanching the tomatoes, I use a Norpro Sauce Master with the Salsa Screen, which removes the tomato skins and minces the tomatoes.
Adapted from a recipe on Food.com.