Chicken Patties in Chile Morita Sauce - Tortitas de Pollo en Salsa de Chile Morita - Aunty Kitty

Ingredients

To Poach the Chicken

1 lb chicken breast

1/2 small onion
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chicken Patties

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise or cream cheese

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste   (I used 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon table salt)

1/4 onion, finely chopped

1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped

140 grams of Mexican manchego or Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of flour (or adjust as needed)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Oil for frying

Sauce

1 lb ripe Roma tomatoes, cut into quarters

1-3/4 to 2 cups of chicken broth 
1/4 onion, cut into quarters
2 large garlic cloves and 1 small one 
2 morita chiles
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder or Kosher salt

Chicken broth from cooking the chicken

Vegetables (Optional)
1 long Mexican zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces

1 small white potato, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium carrot, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt to taste

To Serve

Mexican red rice

Black beans with epazote
Warm tortillas 

Directions

Chicken Patties

Cook the chicken:

Place the chicken breast in a pot of boiling water. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, and salt.

Simmer on medium for 20 minutes. After that, turn off the heat and let the chicken cool in the broth.

Shred the chicken:

Once the chicken is cool, remove the bone and skin and shred it into a big bowl. Set aside. 

Prepare the patties:

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and combine with the mayonnaise or cream cheese. Add the black pepper, Mexican oregano, and garlic salt, and mix until well combined. 

Add the cheese, onion, and cilantro to the shredded chicken and mix to combine. Stir in the flour, starting with 1/2 cup and adding more if needed to make the mixture manageable. 

Shape the mixture into small patties.

Fry the patties:

Heat a bit of oil in a skillet and fry the patties, turning them to brown on both sides. Remove them and place them on paper towels to drain excess oil.

Vegetables (Optional)

Cook the vegetables:

In a small saucepan bring water and 1 teaspoon water to a boil. Add the carrots and cook for 2  minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes until the carrots are soft and the potatoes are halfway cooked. Add the zucchini and cook until tender. Set aside.

Sauce

Cook the sauce ingredients:

In a skillet with a little oil, sauté the onion, 2 big garlic cloves, and morita chiles until the onion is golden and the chiles puff up. Add the quartered tomatoes and cook covered on low heat for about 7 minutes, until the tomatoes are well cooked.

Blend the sauce:

Transfer everything to a blender. Add the small raw garlic clove and a bit of chicken broth from cooking the chicken. Blend until smooth.

Cook the sauce:

Add a little oil to the skillet and strain the sauce back into it. Add the chicken bouillon powder or salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining chicken broth and bring to a simmer. 

Assembly

Add the reserved vegetables and the chicken patties and heat until ready to serve. 

Serve

Serve the patties with sauce and vegetables alongside red rice and beans.

Notes

Inspiration 1

Inspiration 2