Chile Verde Sauce for Chilaquilas

A long awaited post for a recipe I learned from my beloved grandmother...

chile peppers
tomatillos
onions
cilantro
jalapenos and other hot small peppers
almond butter
sea salt
queso fresco
refried beans or chicken
grapeseed oil
corn tortillas


I start out with roasting different types of peppers on the stove until they are crisped black on the outside. I place them in a large bowl with a towel over them and wait until the skin has soften from the trapped steam and heat. Once the skin has softened, I peel it off, along with the stems.

In the meantime, I start to boil water in a large pot and add the tomatillos once the water is ready. I boil them for around 5 minutes to 8 minutes and turn off the heat. I pour out the hot water and add cold water to them so I can more easily peel off their skin.

Once this is done, I begin to add onions to a food processor or blender until they are minced. I then add the peeled tomatillos to the minced onions. Once they are completely mixed, I add the peeled roasted chiles, jalepenos, and cilantro to this concoction. Later, I add almond butter to taste and texture. Lastly, I add some sea salt.

For the tortilla chip layer, I heat up some grapeseed oil in a large frying pan, wok or what contraption you have for deep frying. As the oil is heating up, I cut up the tortillas into triangles. I normally use the whole bag of a small pack of tortillas for this part, depending upon how much I want to serve fresh at the time. Once the oil is ready for dipping, I add a handful amounts of tortillas at a time and wait until they look crisp and before they look super golden. I drop the fried tortillas into a colander with a plate underneath it for catching the dripping oil.

As for the refried beans, you can use the premade stuff, but I normally soak pinto beans the night before and boil them with garlic and dried peppers for 1.5 hours and then refried them with a bit of milk and oil. If you are going meaty, you can use baked or boiled chicken.

The layering process
I began the bottom first layer with some freshly fried corn chips, then I add a layer of refried beans or chicken and, lastly, I would sprinkle some queso fresco. I would repeat this layering process and end with a layer of queso fresco as the top layer. No need to bake this dish since the heat of items will easily melt the cheese.