I can’t believe it took me this long to experiment with tomatillos! Seriously, I have always loved salsa verde and have wanted to try making it for a long time. Something about the mysteriously wrapped green tomato has always been intriguing to me but I was never exactly sure how to use them. I would eye them at the grocery store every time and pass them by instead of picking them up. But this past trip to the market was different, we finally brought tomatillos home to use!
It’s possible that i might be a little too excited about these green relatives of the tomato, there have been recent reports of me talking in my sleep about them! “Tomatillos are so beautiful, they’re a real treat!” – it’s true whether i’m awake or asleep i do feel like they are a beautiful treat. Making our first tomatillo sauce was so much fun, full of surprises, and super easy!
Because this was the first time we have ever used tomatillos I can’t claim to know the best way to make a salsa verde. However, without using a recipe it turned out absolutely delicious anyway. As usual, improv salsa was a great success! I cannot wait to do it again….
Ingredients used…
About 10 medium tomatillos
About 20 sprigs of cilantro leaves
3 jalapeños chopped with seeds
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
juice of 2 limes
kosher salt to taste
el ranchero chips
I did a little research to see how other people make this sauce; almost everyone said that they roasted the tomatillos before blending. I bet it’s not difficult to do and I’m sure it’s delicious, but roasting is for next time, this time I chose to boil them instead.
When I unwrapped the papery shell from the tomatillos I noticed that they were very sticky and greasy, so I washed them before blanching. Place tomatillos in a pot of water, bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. I was surprised to find that the color changed so much once they heated up. It made a lot of sense because it resembled the color I’m more use to seeing in a salsa verde. I used the color change as an indicator of when they were cooked enough. Strain the water and let them cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
Collect the cilantro leaves from the sprigs, skip this step if you’re lazy and blend the whole stem. Cut jalapeños and crush garlic. 3 Jalapenos made it very spicy, so beware, include less seeds if you prefer it to be less spicy. Sautee garlic and jalapeños in oil to mellow flavor. Set aside.
Remove stem base from the blanched tomatillos with a knife. Place all other parts (seeds, juice, and skin) in a blender. Add cilantro, jalapeno, & garlic. Squeeze lime juice in to the mix and blend. Add salt to taste and enjoy with El Ranchero chips or add it to any meal for an extra kick!
Justin says
Looks great! I’m going to have to try this soon. Have never used them before but have been getting more into jalapenos recently so it seems perfect.
B says
Thanks Justin! It was really fun to make and i don’t know why i haven’t worked with tomatillos sooner. definitely try it out. I have had other suggestions since the post to include avocado, which sounds delicious of course and to roast the tomatillos, which i’m sure would also be great! Next time i make it I’m going to try adding those 2 factors to the equation.