Bajio's Green Chile Chicken Salad

If you've never tried Bajio's green chile chicken salad, I highly recommend it. It's a green chile chutney sauteed with shredded chicken, piled on top a bed of lettuce. It doesn't need much dressing because of the chutney, but I like to add just a little drizzle of the tomatillo ranch. Top with cheese and tortilla strips and you've got a delicious salad! Trent and I both love the salad so I found a recipe for the green chile chutney and made the salads last night. Turned out pretty dang good. A little different from Bajio's version, but still delicious!

Green Chile Chutney

3 large annaheim peppers, halved, seeds removed

1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, halved, seeds removed
4 oz. can diced green chiles

5-7 tomatillos, husks removed

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

dash of chili powder

dash of cumin

dash of salt

1 large sweet onion, halved

Directions:

Place peppers, tomatillos, and onion on baking sheet/rack. Roast in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove from oven and place tomatillos and about half the roasted onion in blender and process until mostly smooth. Dice peppers and remaining roasted onion. Add all ingredients except the remaining raw onion into a large pot. Cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until thickened and reduced. Add more sugar/peppers to adjust the spiciness/sweetness to taste.

For Carmelized Onions:

Slice the remaining onion and saute with a little bit of the green chile sauce over medium-low heat until carmelized.

For chicken, marinate 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves in 1 cup lime juice and 1 cup oil for at least 2 hours. Remove chicken and discard marinade, season chicken and grill with a little balsamic vinegar until cooked through. Shred chicken.

To assemble salad take about 1 cup of chutney, desired amount of chicken and caramelized onions, and saute until well heated. Place on top of lettuce, add pico, shredded cheese, tortilla strips and tomatillo ranch and dig in!