Salsa Verde
Back in May when I made the Chicken Enchiladas in Green Sauce I had wanted to make the green sauce (or salsa verde) from scratch but I was unable to find any tomatillos. I was a bit depressed because I could not recall having ever seen any tomatillos in any grocery store ever. I resigned myself to using canned salsa verde. When I was at the farmers market on the weekend I saw some tomatillos and quickly picked them up!
Salsa verde is pretty simple to make. You pretty much just cook the tomatillos and blend everything into a salsa. It was great! It was super fresh, it had a great flavour and some heat. I wanted to enjoy the salsa verde for itself so I used it as a dip for tortilla chips. I made a enough that I have some left over that I look forward to using in another dish.
The article on wikipedia says that tomatillos can be frozen. I think I will try to get some more and freeze them so that I can make my own salsa verde again when I cannot find fresh tomatillos.
Ingredients:
1 cup water
4 tomatillos (husks removed)
2 jalapeno peppers
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 lime (juice and zest)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Place the water and tomatillos in a pot.
2. Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Place everything but the water in a food processor and blend.
Update (10/22/2008):
I have made salsa verde a bunch of times over the last year and I have tried playing around with it in different ways. One of the first new things that I tried was roasting the tomatillos as suggested in the comments below and it turned out great! Roasting vegetables always adds a lot of flavour. I also tried adding some chipotle chilies to add some smokey heat to the salsa verde and it also turned out really well.
Similar Recipes:
Pipian
Pico de Gallo
Recipes that use salsa verde:
Chili Verde
Salsa Verde Turkey Burger
Salsa Verde Carnitas
Tilapia Baked in Salsa Verde
Burritos
Take a look at the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup at Kochtopf.
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32 comments:
wow, the tomatillos look very interesting! I've never seen it before in the markets, or maybe they were there but I never took note because I didn't know what they were. I'll have to look out for them now.
I have never ever seen a tomatillo - What are they - just a different kind of tomato?
I love salsa verde! I had no idea it was that simple.
I wonder if I could grow tomatillos here...that would drive the French farmers bonkers!
I love homemade salsa!! I have never made my own salsa verde before, but now I want to!
According the the wikipedia article tomatillos are related to tomatoes.
I love salsa verde! I had no idea that tomatillos could be frozen. They are available at my grocery store every so often (I haven't figured out a rhyme or reason why they appear and disappear), so now that I know they can be frozen, I will buy them whenever I see them and freeze some.
I have never seen tomatillos before, sounds interesting.
I'm surprised so many people haven't seen tomatillos. I guess I'm living in the land of Mexican food here. They're an essential ingredient in Child Verde, one of my all time favorite Mexican dishes. Love the sound of this recipe. I haven't made my own salsa verde, but it sounds like I should try making it.
Chili verde sounds good. I am going to have to look for a recipe and try it!
Ohh, I never bothered doing this because all the recipes I saw required that you skinned the tomatillos - and lets be honest that is so much work! Maybe it is worth trying since I have seen them in the grocery store lately.
I've grown tomatillos, back when I had a garden. If you can grow them here, I would say you can certainly grow them in France.
They are cultivated pretty much like tomatoes, but they are easier and more weed-like. In fact, if you don't remove all the fallen tomatillos carefully, you will have a lot of volunteers the next year.
I'd don't think I've seen them either. I'll be on the lookout now though!
Tomatitillos are a member of the Gooseberry family. Try the recipe. Salsa Verde should be in evry salsa lovers repertoire.
Has anyone ever tried make it with Tomatillos and green tomato's? I make a red Sauce also ,but this year I wasnt to make green sauce, with the Tomato's and the Tomatillos.
Green tomatoes in salsa verde sounds like it might be interesting.
No need to peel the tomatillos. The husk comes off easily. The tomatillos are cooked and salsa verde is so easy I can't believe I waited so long. Fresh is best.
I love tomatillos. Living in TX has really spoled me on tex mex and authentic Mexican cooking. If you can try roasting all the ingredients on a charcoal grill and then peeling the skins and blending them in the food processor. It gives it a much more full bodied taste than boiling and or blending un cooked ingredients.
I can't believe that I didn't think of roasting them! Next time!
Where do you find them ? I've looked everywhere.
In Toronto, I found the tomatillos at the farmers market as the St Lawrence Market when they were in season. There is also a small fresh produce shop in the basement of the St Lawrence Market where I have seen them when they were not in season.
I am already drooling.. I made a kind of soup with tomatillo... the ingredients were somewhat the same.. just added a bit of green peppers and corn to it...
The verde looks yummmm ..
You may have figured this out already, this post being a year old and all, but tomatillos (and green tomatoes) are easily found in Kensington Market in the Central American/Mexican grocery stores on the east side of Augusta, just north of the FreshMart. Probably a lot cheaper than in St Lawrence too!
Panic: Thanks for the tip. I was getting them at the St Lawrence Market. I will have to take a look in the Kensington Market.
Wow! Your ideas are really great. I have been cooking for 37 years and it gets too redundant for words. Your food sounds and looks delicious. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hey, this sounds great. I have been cooking for 37 years and it gets too routine for words. Your food sounds and looks delicious! Thanks for the inspiration.
I make this quite a bit, as tomatillos are in every mexican grocery store here in Denver, usually around a dollar a pound. Here's my suggestions: Instead of simmering, put the tomatillos under the broiler just till they're lightly browned all over (keep turning them) Don't worry about peeling them, and use any juice they release. Roasting the jalapenos over an open flame such as a gas stove until they're black and then peeling them will add good flavor (stick a fork in the stem end). Also, adding a pinch of sugar will counteract any tartness of the tomatillos.
Just made this from your recipe and it was fantastic.
With a boatload of pickled jalapenos, a bit of vinegar, and everything blended endlessly it makes a great hot sauce as well.
I live in Ohio and I grow tomatillos every summer, they are easier to grow than tomatoes. We just put the seed in the ground or a pot and they come up without any problem.
You can also freeze the salsa verde in freezer bags with the air removed.
no, no, no, to "salsa verde" you need more jalapeño peppers u.ú like 6,,,
Hi Kevin,
Your cooking is definitely NOT boring. These dips look fantastic. I visited your blog last evening and this morning my friend asked if I'd make a healthy vegan dip for the super bowl. I instantly thought of your recipe, and with a few easy adaptions to your adapted recipe, I was able to achieve that. Of course, I linked to your Closet Cooking blog. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi, Kevin. I just recommended your Salsa Verde recipe on my blog, www.halfassedvegetarian.blogspot.com Thanks for the post!
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