Roasted tomatillos, onion, and garlic pureed to make a silky pasta sauce. This tomatillo chicken pasta is a delicious way to shake-up your pasta-for-dinner night this week.

Tomatillo chicken pasta in a skillet with a white napkin around the handle

Nothing strikes fear in the hearts’ of dinner guests than the phrase “it’s an experiment”, a phrase I proudly proclaimed recently with a bag of tomatillos in one hand and a fistful of pasta in the other. The victim? My mother who had just arrived after a long two-leg flight. Conventional wisdom says it’s best to stick to what you know when serving guests, but I like to live on the edge so, without fear, I made a roasted tomatillo chicken pasta for my travel-weary mother.

And while experimenting is probably best left for nights when the stakes aren’t high, where would we be if we never walked to the edge and tried something new?

This was my attitude when I found a mound of tomatillos at the grocery store. They’re still in season and instead of falling back on the always safe salsa verde for Taco Tuesday, I thought why not pasta sauce? As I stared at them I imagined their slightly tangy and fruity insides transformed first by roasting, to coax out their sweetness, and then pureed into a silky sauce.

But, First, What Are Tomatillos?

Tomatillos are commonly used in Mexican cuisine and if you’ve ever had a green salsa most likely it was made with tomatillos. They look like little green tomatoes wrapped in a paper husk, but once you slice one you’ll notice their flesh is quite different from a tomato. It’s meatier and its flavor is more acidic and bright.

I’m taking some liberties with this recipe the biggest of which is the idea that you can take ingredients from two different cultures – in this case, Italian and Mexican – and bring them together in a new and creative way. Seeing as the word “tomatillos” translates to mean “little tomato” (even though they are pretty different!) why not use them to make a sauce for pasta? I like breaking rules and this dinner definitely does that.

And they take really well to roasting – it mellows their acidity and brings out their natural sweetness. Add some roasted garlic and onion, pop it all in a blender and you get a smooth sauce perfect for pasta.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Look for tomatillos near the tomatoes at the grocery store. They’re dressed up in papery husks and a sticky residue that needs to be removed before cooking.
In keeping with the roasting theme, I tossed a whole head of garlic and a some onion onto the sheet pan with the tomatillos.
A pop of fresh cilantro is stirred into the sauce as it simmers on the stove.
I used fettuccini, but any long pasta will work fine.
Crumbled feta cheese is sprinkled over the top before serving.
I roasted a bone-in skin-on chicken breast, diced it, and tossed it with the sauce.
A squeeze of fresh lime adds a bite of acidity and brightness.

With every last strand of pasta swirled on our forks and devoured I put this pasta dinner in the must-make-again column.

P.S. Thanks for being brave, mom.

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