Chicken, Salsa Verde and Tortilla Stack

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and traditionally, we celebrate this lovely day with flowers and chocolate.  💐🍫  Don't get me wrong - I love flowers and I have a borderline unhealthy obsession of chocolate, but this year - I'm thinking Chicken, Salsa Verde and Tortilla Casserole instead.  I'm not even kidding - it's THAT good. (And for me to put it ahead of chocolate is really saying something.)  So sweetheart - if you're reading this - you can skip the flowers and candy this year and make this for me instead. 😉 #subtletyisnotmystrength 

I think my daughter said it best when she commented "I didn't think that I was going to like it because it's green, but it's actually really, really good." 😂Her honesty is refreshing ... sometimes.  😉 

I assembled this scrumptious concoction the day before I served it.  I don't know whether the extra time that it spent in refrigerator gave the flavors more time to meld or allowed the tortillas to soften or the excess juices to seep out but I do know that it worked out perfectly.  Ironically, my reasons for making this in advance had absolutely nothing to do with any of those things.  Time was really the driving force behind my strategy. ⏰ 💁🏻‍♀️

If you're working within time constraints to get dinner on the table, like I was, remember that you can make these ahead of time and put the assembled casseroles into the refrigerator and store them until you're ready to bake.  I took my casseroles right from the frig to the oven and added about 5 minutes to my cooking time.  

Chicken, Salsa Verde and Tortilla Stack
1/2 pound poblano chilies
1 (28 ounce) can tomatillos
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 Tablespoon oil
1 chicken breast
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn kernels
4 (6") corn tortillas
1/2 cup Mexican crema or creme fraiche (Do not use sour cream)
2 cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
1/4 cup cotija cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon pumpkin seeds, chopped

Place poblanos on baking sheet and place under broiler until charred.  Flip and char on second side.

Transfer to a bowl.  Cover and let rest.  Peel skins from peppers when cool.  Chop. 

Combine tomatillos, garlic, vinegar, 1 c. cilantro, 2 t. cumin and 1 1/2 t. salt in food processor and blend until smooth.

Heat oil in dutch oven.  Add puree and cook 6 minutes.  Set aside 1/2 c. salsa verde. 

Add chicken, onion, 1 t. cumin and 1/2 t. salt and pepper to pot.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook 20 minutes.

Remove chicken, shred and return to pot.  Add corn, 1/4 cup cilantro and chopped poblanos.  

Wrap exterior of 4 mini springform pans with foil and set on baking sheet.  Spread 1/2 of reserved salsa in bottom.

Line pans with 2 2/3 tortillas, tearing as needed. 

Spoon half of chicken mixture over top. 

Spread half crema over top.

Sprinkle with 1/3 Monterey jack cheese.  

Repeat layering with tortillas, chicken, crema and Monterey jack cheese.  

Finish with a layer of tortillas, reserved salsa, Monterey jack and cojita cheese.

Bake 35 minutes at 375.

Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Let rest 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Run knife around edges to loosen from pan.  Remove foil and sides of pan.  ​

If you don't have mini springform pans - double the recipe and assemble it in a standard 9" springform.  If you don't have a springform pan, I would assume that you could bake this in a 9" cake pan with high sides without any modifications.  If you bake it in something other than a springform - submit a comment describing your experience.  I feel like there are people out there who could benefit from your experiment - including me.
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Ciao!

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