One of my favorite summer vegetables – apart from tomatoes – is the tomatillo. Tomatillos are those seemingly green tomatoes that grow with a papery husk around them… but they are not unripe green tomatoes at all! They are actually really different from tomatoes.
They are in the nightshade family – just as tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants are – but resemble ground cherries more than tomatoes. They are more solid than tomatoes, sometimes a little sticky under their husk, full of tiny seeds and have a tangy taste. They are also very high in pectin, and that helps to thicken salsa verde. Some people like to eat them raw but I don’t care for them that way.
They also have a beautiful flower:
I’ve actually tried growing tomatillos for the past two seasons but have failed for the most part. Even with two tomatillo plants (tomatillos are known as “self incompatible” – they need at least two plants to create fruit), I’ve not been able to get any fruit! I really don’t know why this is. When I had a plot at Two Coves Community Garden, then appeared as volunteers, and I grew a couple of plants. They produced like crazy! I was very happy.
However, it’s relatively easy to find tomatillos at produce stands and farmers markets around here in the summer. A couple of weekends ago, I was at the Socrates Greenmarket and picked up a couple pounds of organic tomatillos. Some of them were so little! Like an inch across. Some were a couple inches across, but there were no giant fruits. They were adorable.
I had time this past weekend to make salsa verde from my tomatillos. I decided to roast them to bring out some of their sweetness (and help activate that pectin), then turn on the broiler to char some of the skins. It worked perfectly.
With the addition of white onion, jalepeños, garlic, and cilantro, I had an amazing, complex tasting salsa verde – sweet and a bit spicy, with a lovely roundness to the flavor. It’s so good, I may have to stop by the market again next weekend and pick up more of them.
This salsa goes well with most any Mexican dish – on meats, in quesadillas, with beans – and also (not surprisingly) is a main ingredient in salsa verde chicken. It freezes well, too.
I always cut my tomatillos in half to make sure there are no worms inside – yes, it happens, especially with home grown tomatillos. For some reason, worms just adore tomatillos. As far as onions go, I like to use white onions because they are relatively sweet and are traditionally used in Mexican cooking.
1 medium white onion, small dice
1 tsp kosher salt
2 pounds tomatillos
2-3 jalepeños
4 large cloves of garlic
2 small bunches or one large bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Peel and dice the onion and set in a colander or sieve. Sprinkle on the kosher salt, and then mix it with the onion; let that sit until you are ready to add the onion to everything else. This preparation will help make the onion taste a bit milder.
Remove the husks from the tomatillos and wash off any stickiness on its surface. Chop each tomatillo in half (or in quarters if they are very large) and put on a large baking sheet.
Peel and halve the garlic cloves and add to the tomatillos.
Remove and discard the stems of the jalepeños (just slice the stem top off), and then cut them in half (take out as much of the seeds and membranes in accordance to the level of spiciness you prefer), and add to the tomatillos and garlic.
Roast the tomatillos, garlic, and jalepeños for 20 minutes. At this point, put the pan in the broiler and cook for 5 minutes in order to char some of the skins of the tomatillos and jalepeños. Remove from the broiler and let cool while you prepare the other two ingredients.
Rinse the salt off the onions and set aside. Chop the cilantro – primarily the leaves – finely.
Add the tomatillo mixture to a blender. Add the onions and blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add the cilantro and mix until well combined.
Season with sea salt and add red pepper flakes if using.
Makes approximately 4 cups.
This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop, and Simple Lives Thursday, hosted by GNOWFGLINS.
