Let’s talk about Tomatillos and make some salsa.

I have several people at pick-up ask me what to do with tomatillos. I tell them, anything you can do with a tomato you can do with a tomatillo. Preparing them is a little different than a tomato (tomatillos have a papery covering) and the taste is different, tart and tangy and a little citrusy if you eat it raw. If you haven’t eaten them raw, rinse one off and take a bite. Cooking-usually by roasting or grilling, tames the tartness.

Let’s take a look. In the front row from left to right is a tomatillo in it’s paper, next one I started to peel it, next one has the paper off. When you are ready to use your tomatillos remove the paper and wash them. They are sticky for some reason.

If you want to make salsa you can gather your ingredients just like you would if you were making salsa with tomatoes.

You’ll need;

1 1/2 to 2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed & washed
2-4 jalapeños
2-4 garlic cloves
1 medium-large onion
fresh cilantro
salt and pepper
optional ingredients lime, cumin, olive oil, sour cream, or avocado

If you want raw salsa, just chop up everything to the texture you like, or throw everything a a food processor and process it to an even texture, taste it and adjust the seasonings. If I make raw tomatillo salsa I think it needs some fat from either olive oil, sour cream or avocados because it is really tart and the fat calms that down, so does serving it with something cheesy like nachos or a quesadilla.

Here is how I made the cooked version;

1. Chop the onion in half, crush the garlic, and leave the jalapeños and tomatillos
whole. Roast or broil on a baking sheet in a 450-degrees F oven for about 15 minutes,
turning all halfway over through roasting time.

2. In a food processor, add all roasted ingredients (peel the garlic!), plus cilantro and salt and pulse until all ingredients are chopped. Taste, taste, taste and adjust the tartness with lime, salt, olive oil. One of my favorite things I like to do with this salsa is blend an avocado in the food processor with everything, it makes it luscious and creamy and very green. It doesn’t keep in the refrigerator very long if you make it with avocado; only two or three days with an avocado, without it will keep at least 10 days. You can always add the avocado right before serving it too.

Dig in!