I have often seen tomatillos listed as an ingredient, but only recently tried cooking with them. For those of you in Maryland, I first bought tomatillos at the Crossroads farmers' market, which has a decidedly Latin flair. Crossroads is now closed for the winter, but you can find tomatillos at Latin markets or I have even seen them at Whole Foods.
They are interesting little critters. They have a tangy, citrusy flavor and when broiled, they develop a delicious smokiness. Their papery skins are easy to peel and are enchanting as they come off.
Underneath the skins, the tomatillos are a bit sticky. They need to be rinsed to remove that gumminess before they are roasted. This salsa comes together very quickly and would make a delicious topping for tacos, quesadillas, or an omelette. We ate ours with chips, which would be a perfect after-school or game-watching snack.
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
The serrano chile made this salsa too spicy for all the children except Olivia, who has a reasonable threshold for spicy food. If you are making this to serve children, I recommend separating the ingredients in half and and adding the chile to the adult half.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups salsa
15 minutes preparation time
7 minutes cooking time
25-30 tomatillos, papery skins removed and rinsed
1 serrano chile (optional)
1 very small garlic clove minced (about 1/2 teaspoon)
2-3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Set an oven rack on the top setting, and preheat the oven to broil. Spread the tomatillos and chile, if you are using it, on a cookie sheet and broil them, turning them once or twice, until they are soft and partially blackened, about 7 minutes. If you are using a chile but want the salsa a bit less spicy, let it cool and remove the seeds. Put the tomatillos and chile in a food processor or blender. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. See, isn't that easy?
Use as you would your favorite salsa.
last year I did two green plants and they raelly produced a lot and this year I did the green again and some green purple ones, not quite as prolific but not too bad guess it's time to add some yellows to the mix? I'm about to wash & freeze the ones I just picked for canning later
Posted by: Shris | April 16, 2012 at 10:38 PM