Tomatillo Soup

I know that it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. I have plenty of excuses but I’ll be honest and admit that laziness is most likely to blame. I have been cooking and baking up a storm with all of my exciting CSA produce. It’s just that I haven't taken any pictures of my creations and I felt that I could not post without an original photo of my work. Well I’ve thrown that rule out the window. I did not take that photo of the tomatillo and I’m not going to give credit to the person who did because I don’t know who that person is. I just picked the prettiest photo off of the google images search. Now there is an insight to my personality!

Two weeks in a row I’ve received tomatillos in my produce share. I am not a particular fan of the tomatillo. I find them to be a little too sour and mealy and therefore was not looking forward to working with them. But I had two pints of tomatillos about to go to waste and that would be a violation of my vow to try new things and use everything I was given in my CSA share. So I mulled it over and dismissed the ideas of green salsa, been there tried that, and green enchilada sauce, yawn... Instead I went for soup. A spicy green soup with chicken and black beans. I threw some ingredients together and it was delicious. I added salt and a little sugar to balance out the tartness of the tomatillo. The chicken and the meatiness of the black beans gave it a nice variety in texture. The recipe follows.

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion diced
1 jalapeno pepper diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 quart chicken stock
4 chicken breast halves
2 cups tomatillos chopped
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 14 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, mozzarella, queso fresco, whatever)

-Combine first four ingredients in a heavy bottom soup pot over medium heat. Sauté until translucent.
-Pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and place chicken breasts in liquid. Poach chicken 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool.
-Add the tomatillos, sugar, salt, cayenne pepper and oregano to the soup pot and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Puree the soup in stages in a food processor or blender. I like to use my immersion blender.
-Shred cooked chicken and return to the soup pot along with the tomatoes and black beans. Heat though and ladle into bowls. Garnish with shredded cheese.