Grilled Chicken with Tomatillo-Avocado Sauce

This post brought to you by Avocados from Mexico. All opinions are 100% mine.

H&S Parties with Avocados from Mexico and Chef Rick Bayless. Ok... well, not actually with celebrity chef Rick Bayless, but definitely with his clean, healthy recipes made with Avocados from Mexico! 

We had so much fun hosting this party!  It was perfect timing, as Jim and Tiffany are getting ready to move again this year and were ready to blow off a little steam in between packing! (Yes, they have owned 3 houses in less than one year now - and had a baby!) 

Here are the Rick Bayless recipes with Avocados from Mexico that we made for the event:

Grilled Corn and Poblano Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 2 small ears fresh corn, shucked
• 1 small poblano chile
• 8 ounces tomatillos, husked (about 4 large)
• 3 avocados from Mexico, halved, pitted, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion, rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Preheat gas grill to medium or prepare a charcoal grill. Grill corn, turning occasionally, until golden on all sides, about 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut kernels from the cob; remove to a large bowl. Grill the chile and tomatillos, turning until skins are nicely charred, about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel the charred skin from the peppers with your fingers. Remove stem, core and seeds; chop chile and remove to the bowl. Finely chop tomatillos, capturing juices, and add to the bowl. Add avocado, onion, cilantro and salt. Coarsely mash avocado; gently stir to combine all ingredients.

We also made chicken for our main course!

Grilled Chicken with Tomatillo-Avocado Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (recipe follows)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each pounded to about 1-inch thick
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 avocado from Mexico, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
• 4 to 5 serrano chiles, stemmed
• 1 small white onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 4 ounces)
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar, optional

Preparation:

In a baking dish, mix together 1/4 cup of the salsa with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, if time permits. Prepare a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to medium-hot. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the remaining salsa; stir 5 minutes to concentrate slightly. Add broth; boil gently until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; add avocado. Remove chicken from marinade; sprinkle with salt; grill 8 inches from medium-hot coals, turning once, until seared and cooked through about 8 minutes. To serve, spoon sauce onto 4 plates; top with chicken; garnish with cilantro.

Yield: 4 portions

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Heat broiler. On a foil-lined baking sheet, lay tomatillos and chiles. Set sheet 4 inches below broiler; roast until tomatillos are soft and black in spots, about 5 minutes. Turn tomatillos and chiles; roast 5 more minutes; set aside to cool.

Set oven to 425⁰F. Separate onion into rings. On a baking sheet, combine onion rings with garlic. Bake, stirring frequently until onions are roasted and garlic feels soft and brown in spots, about 15 minutes. Cool. In a food processor, pulse the chiles, onions and garlic until finely chopped; remove to a large bowl. To food processor, add tomatillos; coarsely puree; add to bowl. Stir in water, cilantro and salt. Add sugar to soften the tartness of the tomatillos, if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Yield: about 2 cups

These recipes were fantastic and all of our friends REALLY enjoyed them!! Want to host your own Avocados from Mexico BBQ? Check out The Avocados From Mexico Facebook page and enter The Avocados From Mexico BBQ like Rick Bayless! Sweeps to enter to win some pretty awesome prizes like a trip to Chicago to eat at Frontera or a shiny new Weber grill and autographed Rick Bayless cookbook.

Enjoy the recipes!

- The Gang