Salsa Verde Chilaquiles with Roasted Chickpeas

The idea of this dish had been percolating in my mind for some time, but I was not invested enough to commit until my friend brought me freshly roasted New Mexican green chile from Albuquerque's Frontier Restaurant. (If you are ever in Albuquerque, stop by Frontier Restaurant for breakfast burritos. They have plenty of vegetarian options, but it's probably not the best place for vegans. I went prior to going plant-based.) I knew I wanted to pair the hot chile with tart tomatillos so I decided to build the dish around a spicy salsa verde (roasted tomatillo salsa) topped with a mild and cooling salsa fresca (fresh raw salsa). The chickpeas added a nice textural component and served as a perfect plant-based stand in for the fried egg you would typically find on chilaquiles.  

Ingredients (4 servings):

Tomatillos (10), roasted New Mexican green chile (1/2 cup or to taste)*, white onion (1 Lg divided, 3/4 and 1/4), fresh cilantro (2 handfuls plus 2 Tb), garlic (3 cloves), tomato (1 Md), vegetable broth (2 cups), corn tortillas, either fried or baked crisp (6-8 large, cut into eighths), unsalted chickpeas (1 15 oz can), smoked paprika (1/2 ts), lime juice (2 Tb), lime wedges (as needed), scallion (1 stalk), salt (to taste), olive oil (4 Tb divided, 2 Tb and 2 Tb).     

Preparation and Assembly (1 hour)**:

Salsa Verde:

• Cut the tomatillos in half and place them cut side down on a baking sheet. 
• Turn on your oven's broiler setting. Roast the tomatillos under the broiler until their skins start to blister and blacken in spots (about 8-10 minutes in total). Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the garlic and onion, setting aside 1/4 of the onion for the salsa fresca.
• Heat 2 Tb of olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Once the olive oil is heated, sauté the onion until the edges of the onion bits start to brown a little.
• Add chopped garlic, the roasted tomatillos, the roasted green chile, handfuls of fresh cilantro, the vegetable broth and salt.
• Turn up the heat and bring the liquid to a slight boil.
• Reduce the temperature and allow the sauce to simmer until the components cook down (about 5-8 minutes).
• Remove the sauce from the heat.
• Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce smooth. (You can transfer the sauce to blend in a standing blender if you do not have an immersion blender.)  
• Return the pan to medium heat and cook the blended sauce down further (about another 6-8 minutes) until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. 
• Take the sauce off the heat and cover to keep warm. 

Chickpeas:

• Heat your oven to 350. 
• Drain the chickpeas and pat them down with a kitchen towel or paper towel to get them as dry as possible.
• Toss the chickpeas in 2 Tb olive oil and spread them out evenly on a baking sheet. 
• Bake the chickpeas in the 350 degree oven until they start to slightly brown on the outside (about 20 minutes).
• Remove the baking sheet,  sprinkle the chickpeas with some salt and smoked paprika, and give the pan a slight shake to turn the chickpeas.
• Put them back in the oven until they are nicely browned and crunchy on the outside (about 10 more minutes). 

Salsa Fresca:

• Chop the tomato, remaining 1/4 of the onion, and remaining cilantro.
• Combine the ingredients with a spoon in a bowl with the lime juice and some salt.
• Set aside.

Assembly:

• Place a skillet on medium heat while you build your chilaquiles.
• Spoon a thin layer of salsa verde into the skillet. Place tortilla wedges in a single layer and then spoon more of the salsa verde over the tortillas. Continue to layer the tortillas and salsa verde until all of the tortilla wedges are evenly smothered in the salsa verde.
• Once the salsa verde is heated through and the tortillas have absorbed the sauce, remove the skillet from heat.  
• Plate the chilaquiles and add some roasted chickpeas on top. 
• Garnish the chilaquiles with the salsa fresca, chopped scallions and lime wedges.

Notes: 

*I was lucky enough to have freshly roasted New Mexican green chile gifted to me. However, these can easily be swapped for a mix of chilies based on what is available and the desired heat level. I would try this next time with a mix of poblanos and jalapeños or serranos to give the salsa verde a brighter green color.  The fresh chilies can be roasted under the broiler along with the tomatillos until they get nice and blistery on the outside and are cooked through on the inside. 

Although chilaquiles are typically made with corn tortillas, I used leftover wheat tortillas I had in my fridge. They still tasted great, but did not hold up as well as corn tortillas would.

**I knew this dish would have a lot of moving parts so I toasted my tortillas ahead of time and roasted the chickpeas while the salsa verde was cooking to maximize efficiency.