Emerald Chicken

• porties: Serves 4-6

Ingrediënten

8 ounces chicken livers, trimmed of fat, membranes, and connective tissue

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 split bone-in chicken breasts (10 to 12 ounces each)

2 tablespoons neutral oil

1 pound tomatillos, husked and washed

3 medium yellow onions; 1 thickly sliced and 2 quartered

6 garlic cloves; 3 left whole with skins on and 3 pressed or grated

3 medium serrano or jalapeño chiles (see Cook's Note)

⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and small stems

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 pound baby spinach

Instructies

Rinse the chicken livers, pat dry with paper towels, and put in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl or ramekin, combine 2½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper, stir to mix, and set aside. Working with one chicken breast at a time, gently shimmy your finger between the skin and the meat, loosening but not detaching the skin. Fold over the skin to expose the meat, sprinkle about one-fourth of the salt and pepper mixture evenly over the meat, and lay the skin back in place. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and salt and pepper. Put the chicken in the refrigerator.

With a rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a large ovenproof skillet over high heat, warm 2 teaspoons of the neutral oil until shimmering. Add the tomatillos, sliced onion, whole garlic, and chiles and cook, undisturbed, until deeply charred on the bottom, about 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip everything and cook, undisturbed, until the second side is charred, about 6 minutes longer. Transfer the tomatillos, onion, and chiles to a blender. Transfer the garlic to a small plate. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of the skins and add to the blender along with the cilantro, lime juice, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Blend until the mixture is thoroughly pureed. Adjust the seasoning with additional salt, if necessary, and blend into a salsa.

Set the skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 teaspoons neutral oil, and warm until shimmering. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook, undisturbed, until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces and tuck the onion quarters around the chicken. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the chicken until it registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer, 25 to 40 minutes. Leaving the onions and chicken juices in the skillet, transfer the chicken to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise and cover with foil to keep warm.

While the chicken rests, set a strainer over a medium bowl.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, warm about 1 tablespoon of the chicken juices. Add as much spinach as will fit comfortably in the skillet and cook, stirring and turning constantly, until wilted and bright green, about 1 minute. Add the remaining spinach in batches, cooking and stirring, until all the spinach is wilted and bright green, about 3 minutes longer. About halfway through the cooking time, add the pressed garlic. Scrape the spinach and garlic into the strainer and, using tongs, squeeze to release as much liquid as possible. Add the drained spinach to the pan with the onions and chicken juices, add ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and toss to coat. Arrange the spinach, onions, and chicken on a serving platter, and set aside.

Return the nonstick skillet to medium-high heat, add the remaining 2 teaspoons neutral oil, and warm until shimmering. Lightly sprinkle the chicken livers all over with salt and pepper and cook, undisturbed, until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 2½ minutes. Flip the livers and cook until the second sides are lightly browned, about 2 minutes longer (do not overcook-they should remain rosy inside). Using tongs, remove the livers from the pan and arrange on the platter with the spinach and chicken.

Pour about half the salsa over the chicken and livers. Serve immediately, passing the remaining salsa on the side.

Notities

It is fact that the only way in or out of Sigil is through one of the city's innumerable portals. It is also fact that while in Sigil, one must try the famous Emerald Chicken. Gifted its name from the splash of chopped greens, intermingled with chunks of fowl, chicken livers, onions, and a strong dash of incendiary spices, Emerald Chicken demands an adventurous palate- it was originally made for tieflings with fiendspices-and a cool glass of ale to quench the burn. A milder version became famous in far-off Purskul, on Toril, in eateries such as the Owlroost Head

COOK'S NOTES

The heat of serranos and jalapeños can vary significantly, so you may want to take a tiny nibble to gauge how hot yours are and use more than three if it seems too tame. Here, we use them whole, with their seeds and inner membranes, to harness all the heat. The chicken livers can pop and spit a bit as they cook, so if you have a splatter screen, this is a great time to deploy it.

Rice or quinoa make good accompaniments.