Monday, September 27, 2010

salsa verde!

tomatillos
I have loved salsa verde my entire life. One of the first "meals" I ever learned to make for myself was a quesadilla. Corn tortillas, cheese and a bottle of green La Victoria hot sauce were staples in my childhood fridge. They were some of the flavors imprinted on my young palette to represent comfort. So, with all of the cooking I do, isn't it odd that I've NEVER made my own green hot sauce before... you know, from scratch?!  Mexican salsa verde is made with boiled or roasted tomatillos, which look a little like a green tomato. Our CSA has an abundant tomatillo U-PICK crop going on right now. Have you ever plucked one off the vine? It's quite fun searching for the ones that have ripened enough to fill up their papery husks. My son and I gathered a nice bowl-full on Saturday morning for some weekend Mexican cooking, our family's favorite food.  I was dumbfounded by how easy this salsa is to make. What took me so long?!
Salsa Verde
  1. Husk tomatillos, a more perfect job for children couldn't be found!
  2. Cover with water in a pot and boil until they turn a pale gray/green.
  3. Remove with a slotted spoon and puree in a blender with:
  • one white or yellow onion
  • a handful of cilantro 
  • 1 poblano or jalepeno pepper to taste
  • salt
  • a squeeze of lime

Several variations were made with different degrees of "heat". I could have drunk an entire jar, I loved it that much! We used the mildest version to top off incredible black bean enchiladas last night. They reminded me of my Lita, and that's saying a lot... she made amazing enchiladas for us weekly.
salsa verde
This truly is my  favorite kind of cooking: seasonal, local, quick & easy.  You better believe I'll be returning for more tomatillos before the first frost comes... I'm bringing along a huge bucket next time! Pin It

14 comments:

  1. Sounds yummy! Lovely pictures too.

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  2. Yummmmmm! Thank you for the recipe!

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  3. I've never seen this fruit, or is it a vegie(?), before but it reminds me a lot of pysallis fruit that you can buy here. Perhaps they're both from the same family.

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  4. yumm!! i like to put a chipotle or two in my tomatillo salsa. now i want some! ;)

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  5. WOW! Looks and sounds delish! Would you be willing to share your black bean enchilada recipe? ;0)

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  6. momma rae- I'll have to try chipotle next time.
    Jessi- thanks for your faith in my recipes... this was just basic enchilada making: corn tortillas(softened in a little hot oil) and then wrapped around black beans, onions, and jack cheese. They were topped with several cups of salsa verde and a little more cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly. Nothing fancy, but totally satisfying and very kid friendly is the salsa is mild.

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  7. i had two little volunteer tomatillo seedlings pop up this year next to the chicken coop. i transplanted them into my son's garden and they were doing just fine until a tomato hornworm ate one almost down to the nubs. somehow it bounced back just in time to flower alongside the other plant (that's easily three times as big) and now they both have fruit on them. it's a miracle! and they seem to like this cooler weather we just slipped into here in the Southern U.S. (it was up to 95 degrees last week.....66 today as i write this!)

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  8. I had no idea it was so easy either! Thanks for posting it... it looks great!

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  9. Yum! I have a tomatillo chicken enchilada recipe (from my husband's maternal Mexican side of our family) that we just love. Our tomatillos in the garden just didn't thrive though. They were smaller than grapes and then fell off.

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  10. It's that simple??? I love salsa verde but I've never made it. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

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  11. We made a bunch of this last weekend after visiting the upick patch at SLF as well. My husband is obsessed with making it taste like the salsa you get at the taco stands in Nogales. His solution: Fire roast the tomatillos (the husks come off easier, and it adds a little something extra to the flavor). He's also a firm proponent of using vinegar instead of just lime alone. I think it depends on preference!

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  12. delicious tips, wren! I'll try them out with the next batch. I'm out of limes anyway. :)

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  13. Oh man, I passed by the huge display of tomatillos at our co=op yesterday cause I didn't know what to do with them! This sounds delicious...next time! :)

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  14. Oh, thanks for sharing that yummy looking recipe, Maya. They are mysterious-those tomatillos- and you don't know quite what to do with them.
    The fire roasting sounds very interesting, too!

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