Earl's Chicken Rojo (not THAT Earl)
3-5 chicken breasts or thighs
6 large tomatoes
1/2 onion, quartered
3 Tbls olive oil
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups of water
1 tsp mexican oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbl red chile powder or chile paste
salt to taste
Preheat broiler on high.
Heat 1 Tbl oil in a large pan over high heat. Brown chicken pieces on each side. Pour chicken broth and water over chicken and bring to a boil. Add chile, cumin, oregano, garlic and cocoa; simmer, covered.
Slice top off each tomato and place cut side down on a cookie sheet along with onions; drizzle with 2 Tbls oil. Place in broiler and remove when tomato skins become very wrinkled and shriveled. Remove from broiler and let cool for 1 minute. While tomatoes cool, turn chicken.
Peel skin off tomatoes and remove seeds; mash. Separate onions and stir into sauce along with tomatoes. Keeping chicken uncovered, let sauce reduce while chicken finishes cooking.
If liquid cooks off too fast, add water about a half cup each time, until the chicken reaches 170 degrees or is no longer pink inside.
|