Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Roast Chicken Nachos with Green Chile-Cheese Sauce - Tyler Florence

This recipe is a must try! Don't be afraid of it because its a big recipe. If you know how to use a food processor and make a bachamel sauce, you can do this. And if not, it walks you through pretty well. So to modify the before comment: if you know how to follow directions you can do this.

4 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed (tomatillos look like green tomatoes with husks)
2 jalapenos, stemmed
1/2 medium onion, peeled and quartered
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
Kosher salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, at room temperature
4 cups shredded Jack cheese
1 (1-pound) bag salted corn tortilla chips
1 (3-pound) whole roasted chicken, meat finely shredded, skin and bones discarded (view comments)
Salsa, sour cream and guacamole, for serving

Bring a pot of water to a boil; add the tomatillos, jalapenos, onion, and garlic. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tomatillos are soft. Drain and cool slightly, then put them in a blender. Add the cilantro, lime juice, and cumin. Puree for a few seconds to blend, and then pour in about a 1/4 cup of water and process to a coarse puree; taste and season with a generous pinch of salt. You should have about 2 cups of this salsa verde.
Make a roux by melting the butter over medium-low heat in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Just as the foam subsides, sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to remove the starchy taste from the flour; don't allow it to brown. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock and simmer for 8 minutes to thicken. Once you have a good base, fold in 2 cups of the shredded Jack cheese; mix until completely melted into a sauce. Stir in the prepared salsa verde until incorporated; remove the green chili cheese sauce from the heat.

* To build these awesome nachos: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Get a very large oven-proof platter and cover it with a few handfuls of tortilla chips, follow with a portion of the shredded chicken, a coating of the cheese sauce, and a nice sprinkle of the remaining shredded jack. Make 3 or 4 layers of the nachos, depending on the size of the platter. Bake the nachos until they are all hot and gooey, about 5 to 10 minutes.

* this is how Tyler Florence says to do it. From trial and error we have found this is our favorite way:

Put the green chile cheese sauce in a crockpot on low. Place all other ingredients on your table, haystack style (in seperate bowls). Allow each person to build assemble their own plate of nachos. This saves the nachos from going soggy.

Check the comments for additional tips! Eat up because this makes a lot!!!!

2 comments:

Brandon and Brittany said...

Tip: If you don't want to go to the effort of roasting a chicken, just buy one from the store. DON'T, however, substitute plain old cooked or canned chicken; it is not the same and the recipe will suffer.

Brandon and Brittany said...

Tip: As mentioned in the recipe, this makes a lot; Party Size. If it is just little old you, split the chile verde sauce and freeze half, then just make a half batch of the bachamel sauce (the part wit the roux, chicken stock and cheese) DO NOT freeze the completed green chili cheese sauce (Chile-verde with bachamel) - it does not freeze well. This recipe is best eaten semi-immediately; not as good the next day.