Chicken Vesuvio ~ a Chicago Specialty!

 

Chicken that's “Vesuvioed,” tastes better than you could ever imagine!  It’s a meat-and-potatoes dish from meat-and potatoes Chi-Town, it’s indigenous to Chicago.

 

Ummm, mmm!  Delicious!

It's still a little chilly and rainy so this dish hit the spot!

 

Chicken Tinga, not with my IP!

I know a lot of you are obsessed with your Instant Pot, that "miracle" small appliance! 

 I researched it carefully, 

read your posts about the wonders of it, 

got suckered in, 

purchased one.  

Unfortunately, there’s no IP love here.  It all went downhill with this recipe...

First off, I browned the tomatillos and onions nicely.  Then added the seasonings, stock and diced tomatoes; removed the skin and bones from the chicken and added that to the pot.

The next step is when it all went wrong!  Put the lid on, lock it in place and set the IP to pressure cook, it sounds sooooo easy!  Wrong! 

Once again, I couldn’t get the lid on, couldn’t lock it in place.  It was sort of tricky the first 2 or 3 times I used it, this time it was impossible.

I even read the manual for the umpteenth time, still couldn’t do it.  Then I asked Bill to try it, he had no more luck than I did.  After being frustrated for 30 or so minutes, I watched a video of some man demonstrating placing the lid on and locking it in place - he must've been a magician!

It sounds so simple, but it’s so crazy.  I never did get the lid on, couldn’t cook the chicken in it, ended up braising the chicken in the tomato mixture, in a casserole dish, in the oven.  

By then, I had lost all interest in it and dinner too - just wanted it over with and done!  I'd just rather cook ~ stir ~ & taste ~ my way.

The chicken turned out OK though, tasted OK.  We decided we’d like it over noodles instead of a traditional Chicken Tinga recipe with tostada shells. 

The last step in this disaster:   Bag up the IP and put in the garbage can outside ~ the next day was garbage day and I was happy to be rid of the darn thing and get back the space it demanded!!! 

There is one positive thing I can say about my Instant Pot ~ at least I didn't have to clean the contraption!

I’m hoping I’ve learned my lesson and won’t buy the next pricey kitchen gadget that comes along...


Chicken Tinga
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large tomatillos, husked and quartered
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup chicken stock
1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon chipotle purée
8 ounces uncooked extra wide egg noodles

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place olive oil in IP (skillet) on medium high heat.  
Add tomatillos and cook until browned; add onions and garlic, and cook until browned, about 3 minutes.
Add chicken stock and stir.
Add tomatoes with their juice, oregano, salt, pepper and chili powder, stir to combine.
Transfer the tomato mixture to a casserole dish that has been coated with cooking spray.
Add chicken and chipotle purée, stir well.
Place lid on dish and cook until chicken is cooked through and tomato mixture has thickened.
Meanwhile, cook noodles in boiling water according to package directions.
After cooking, transfer chicken to a plate and pull it into bite-size pieces.  Return to tomato mixture and combine.
Transfer chicken and tomatoes to serving bowl.
Serve over cooked noodles or tostada shells.


Enjoy!