Chicken with avocado salsa verde

When the avocados return, so do I.

40 Ingredients Forever is devoted to recipes that are abundant in flavor and joy yet streamlined in process and shopping—because they’ll all be made using my 40 go-to ingredients.

For some, the first signs of spring are ramps, daffodils, or birds chirping. For me, it’s the avocados.

Primavera is a special family farm in California that grows avocados like you’ve never had them before. They taste like so much more than the supermarket options. They remind me of a bite of crunchy romaine salad followed by bread and butter: grassy, sweet, and rich.

Every year I look forward to developing recipes for Primavera in exchange for boxes of avocados in my mailbox. Their season just recently started and runs through end of June-ish, which leaves you just a few sweet months to weave avocados into every meal (and eat them right from their skin with a spoon).

Start with avocado salsa verde, where creamy avocado softens a bright and punchy chopped-herb sauce. This extra-lush take on salsa verde and can be used wherever you use green sauce: on simply seared chicken, like here, or over fish, roasted vegetables, or stirred through beans.

Chicken with avocado salsa verde

Serves 4

• 1 bunch scallions

• ½ bunch parsley

• ½ bunch cilantro

• Salt

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 lemon

• 1 large ripe avocado

• 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1. Make the avocado salsa verde: Thinly slice 1 bunch scallions. Push to one side of your cutting board, then thinly slice ½ bunch cilantro and ½ bunch parsley. Add the scallions to the pile of herbs along with a pinch of salt. Chop and smash until everything is coarsely chopped and juicy. Transfer to a medium bowl, along with ½ cup oil, the juice from 1 lemon, and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cut 1 avocado into chunks and add to the bowl, then stir gently to combine (the lemon will keep the avocado from browning.

2. Meanwhile, sear the chicken: Sear 1 ½ pounds chicken all over with salt, then coat in 1 tablespoon oil. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. When just smoking, add the chicken flat side down and cook, pressing down occasionally with tongs, until golden-brown and opaque halfway up the sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve the chicken topped with the salsa verde.

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Chicken With Avocado Salsa Verde Ali Slagle's 40 Ingredients Forever

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