Mexico City · 45 min · Vegetarian · Main course · For confident cooks
Chilaquiles verdes
In German: Tortillastreifen in grüner Salsa · In English: Tortilla strips in green salsa
For 4 servings · US units
Crisp tortilla triangles in tangy tomatillo salsa with crema and queso fresco
Crackling fried corn tortillas meet a bright, tart salsa of tomatillos, serranos and cilantro — a traditional dish and comfort food at its best. Tortillas that are a day or two old give you the crispest results, which is exactly what you want here. Pile on shredded chicken or a fried egg, add crema, crumbled queso fresco and raw onion rings, and a bowl of chips turns into a full meal.
Ingredients
- 1⅛ lbpreferably 1–2 days old, cut into triangles and fried; ready-made tortilla chips work tooThin flatbreads made from nixtamalized corn dough, with a gently earthy corn flavour.Substitute: Homemade ones from masa harina are just as good, whereas ordinary cornmeal or polenta won't bind into a dough. Wheat tortillas work for filling but taste blander, are softer and don't crisp the same way when fried.Read more
- 1⅔ lbhusked, washed, cooked for the green salsaA green, tomato-like fruit wrapped in a papery husk, firm and distinctly tart, and the base of many green salsas.Substitute: Unripe green tomatoes with a little lime juice come closest in acidity and colour, but the flavour is flatter and less fruity, and the sauce turns out more watery. Physalis are too sweet to serve as a substitute.Read more
- 4cooked along with the tomatillos, amount to tasteA small, slender green chile from Mexico, usually used fresh. Noticeably hotter than a jalapeño, with a bright, grassy flavour.Substitute: Jalapeños come closest in flavour but are milder and fleshier, so use a little more. Slim green Thai chiles match the heat better but are usually even hotter and less grassy, so use fewer.Read more
- 2 clovesgarlicpeeled, cooked with the tomatillos
- 1onionhalf for the salsa, half in thin rings as garnish
- 1 bunchpart blended into the salsa, rest as toppingThe fresh leaves of the coriander plant, with a bright, citrusy and slightly peppery taste.Substitute: There is no true substitute. Flat-leaf parsley, perhaps with a little lime zest, adds colour and green freshness but not cilantro's distinctive citrusy note.Read more
- 1 cupchicken brothfor blending and thinning the salsa; water works too
- 1 cupVegetable oilfor frying the tortillas plus 1 tbsp for searing the salsa
- ¾ cupdrizzled over the finished chilaquilesMexican crema is a cultured, pourable cream, milder and thinner than typical sour cream.Substitute: Crème fraîche thinned with a splash of milk or a little lime juice comes closest. Sour cream also works but tastes tangier and can curdle when heated, so add it at the end or cold.Read more
- 5¼ ozcrumbled on top; cotija as an alternativeA young, unaged Mexican cow's-milk cheese: white, mildly salty and slightly tangy, with a crumbly texture.Substitute: The closest match is a mild feta soaked briefly in water to draw out salt, though it stays sharper and tangier. Ricotta salata or well-drained, lightly salted farmer's cheese match the crumbly texture, and paneer behaves similarly under heat but is firmer and blander.Read more
- 1⅛ lbchicken breastcooked and shredded, as topping (optional)
- 1sprig added to the simmering salsa (optional)Caution: Use epazote only in the usual small seasoning amounts, as it is toxic in larger quantities and especially as an essential oil.A Mexican herb with jagged leaves and a sharp, resinous aroma reminiscent of camphor, mint and anise.Substitute: There is no real substitute, because no common herb has this resinous, camphor-like note. Mexican oregano with a little fresh coriander gives the dish an herbal touch but tastes different; often it is better simply to leave the herb out than to try to imitate it.Read more
- saltfor the salsa and the fried tortillas
- 4eggsfried, as an alternative topping to chicken (optional)
Method
- Cut the corn tortillas into triangles and fry them in batches in hot vegetable oil until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels and season lightly with salt.
- Husk and wash the tomatillos, then cook them in water with the serrano chiles and peeled garlic cloves for 8–10 minutes, until their bright green turns olive. Keep an eye on them so they don't burst — if they do, the salsa turns bitter.
- Blend the cooked tomatillos, chiles and garlic with half the onion, part of the cilantro and the chicken broth until smooth, then season with salt.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wide pan, pour in the salsa, bring it to a boil and let it reduce gently for 10–12 minutes. Add the sprig of epazote to steep if you like, and taste for salt.
- Tip the tortilla chips into the simmering salsa and turn them briefly and gently until they're coated all over — or divide the chips among the plates and ladle the hot salsa over them.
- Serve right away: scatter over the cooked, shredded chicken breast if you like, crumble the queso fresco on top, drizzle the crema in ribbons, and finish with thin rings from the second onion half and the rest of the cilantro.
Tips and variations
Fried eggs make a lovely topping instead of chicken. If you want it cheesy, slide the finished pan under a hot broiler for a minute until the queso fresco melts. You can also season the salsa with chicken bouillon powder instead of broth and round it out with a splash of cooking cream, and the onion can go into the blender raw or be simmered along with the tomatillos. Timing is everything: turned in the pan the chips go softer, doused with salsa on the plate they stay crisper — either way, get them to the table immediately.
Allergens
Contains: Cereals containing gluten, Milk (including lactose)
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Eggs
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
