Kitchen Exploration: Tomatillo Salsa Verde
At OUR Ecovillage we make two main kinds of salsa – a red tomato salsa which comes from 14 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes and a salsa verde, or green salsa, made from Tomatillos! We grew a huge abundance of Tomatillos and different kinds of tomatoes this year so we may have extra for sale if you like this recipe and wish to buy by the pound for canning and freezing…let us know!
Many people think that Salsa Verde is made from green tomatoes, but actually it is made with a distant relative of the tomato from Mexico, the naturally tart tomatillo (pronounced “toe-mah-TEE-yo”). A tomatillo looks like a little green tomato covered with a husk. It’s not in the same genus as tomatoes, though both are in the nightshade family (along with eggplants and peppers). Let us know how you like this recipe 
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Makes 3 cups
To cook the tomatillos, you can either roast them in the oven, brown them on the stovetop, or boil them. Roasting in the oven or browning on the stovetop will deliver more flavor. Each way works, though boiling is a more common way to cook the tomatillos.
Garlic is optional. You can either cook a few cloves with the tomatillos in any of these steps, or add one or two raw garlic cloves when you go to blend the salsa.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 lb tomatillos
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 2 cloves (or more) garlic (optional)
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped (you can use whole for more heat if you want)
Salt to taste