- Mary Beth Clark - https://marybethclark.com -

Chicken Breast with Avocado-Tomatillo Sauce and Oregano Blossoms

Quick and easy, Chicken Breast with Avocado-Tomatillo Sauce and Oregano Blossoms is a low-cal dish. Lovely to look at, too. With the sweet-spicy-tart sauce, a simple chicken breast becomes a main dish worthy of a restaurant. For even faster prep, serve this sauce with prepared roast or rotisserie chicken you purchased. You do not have to cook everything from scratch to savor a chef's meal at home. (Although you made it yourself, of course!)

Tomatillo Sauce, with its classic Mexican cuisine combination of tomatillo, white onion, avocado, green peppers, and oregano, stores well in the refrigerator for a few days. Multiply the recipe for multiple uses, add fresh avocado just before serving, then pair with turkey breast, veal, grilled pork, white-fleshed fish such as bass or snapper, shrimp, tofu, and boiled or steamed cauliflower.


4 servings. Cooking time is about 20 minutes.

Chicken Breast:
4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (8 ounces or 227 g each breast)
OR roasted or rotisserie chicken breasts

Tomatillo Sauce: Makes 2 cups (473 ml) sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil for sauteing
2 tablespoons chopped white onion
1 large garlic clove, whole and crushed, finely chopped, or grated
8 ounces (227 g) fresh firm tomatillos, chopped (6 medium tomatillos)
1 poblano pepper, shishito pepper, jalapeno pepper, or other green pepper
2/3 cup water (158 ml) or as needed to make a sauce

Avocado:
1 medium avocado (6 ounces or 170 g)
Salt to taste
Cracked black pepper to taste

Garnish:
Delfino coriander or other coriander, or pipicha
Oregano blossoms
(Photo: Includes three oregano varieties that I grow: Dittany of Crete (origanum dictamnus) has delicate tendrils of pale pink-pale lavender honeysuckle-like umbels, Syrian Za’atar Oregano (origanum syriacum) has small round balls with white flowers, Italian Oregano (origanum vulgare) has layered pine cone-shaped flowers.)


1. Chicken: If preparing raw chicken breasts, saute, roast, poach, or steam them until cooked through. Remove from the heat, cool down.

2. Tomatillo Sauce: Peel back the thin skin surrounding the tomatillos and discard. Remove the top core, chop the tomatillos. Remove the stem and inner seeds from the pepper, chop. In a small saucepan, warm the oil over low heat. Add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes until hot. Add the garlic, chopped fresh tomatillos, and pepper, and saute until hot to the touch. Pour in a small amount of water so ingredients simmer for about 15 minutes, uncovered, until softened and creating a sauce. Remove from the heat and cool down. Remove the whole crushed garlic if included. At this point, continue with the recipe and serve, or cover and refrigerate up to a few days.

3. Adding the Avocado Before Serving: Remove the avocado peel. Or split in half vertically, remove seed. Scoop out the pulp in large sizes so it can be cut into small cubes or chopped.
When the cooked sauce has cooled, add the avocado and gently stir so the avocado does not break apart or become mushy. Season to taste. This sauce tastes better when it rests for 20 minutes or more before serving.

4. Just before Serving: Diagonally slice each cooked chicken breast and fan-out on each serving plate. Add the coriander or pipicha to the sauce. Spoon some sauce over the chicken. Garnish with oregano blossoms. Enjoy every savory bite!