Salsa Verde
My dad has one of the biggest vegetable gardens I have every seen. Not only is it huge, but the yield that it produces is amazing. I don’t know what fertilizer he uses, but whatever it is, it works! I guess it makes sense that he knows about plants sine he is a golf course superintendent. His garden has tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, herbs, peppers (oh my are there a lot of hot pepper plants!) and more.
This year my dad added tomatillos to his garden. Tomatillos are almost impossible to find in Ontario. I have been to countless grocery stores and specialty shops looking for them only to come up empty handed. I was thrilled that my dad planted some in his garden and amazed how well they did in the cooler Ontario climate.
Tomatillos, look a lot like a green tomato, but are a different vegetable. They are part of the nightshade family and are a staple in Mexican cuisine. The tomatillo fruit is surrounded by an inedible paper-like husk.
There are different ways to cook with tomatillos but the most common way is to make salsa verde. Verde, green in Spanish, is the colour of this salsa as it is made up of many green Mexican ingredients. It is great served with tortilla chips, on enchiladas, tacos and more.
Peel the husks off the tomatillos and wash the fruit in cold water. I roast half of the tomatillos to give the salsa a deeper flavour. Coat half of them in a little oil and roast those in the oven.
After about 20-30 minutes the roasted tomatillos are ready.
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor. It should require a few batches to blend it all. Cook in a pot for about 30 minutes at a low boil.
Pour the salsa verde into sterilized jars.
Then give them a hot water bath for 30 minutes.
Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 25 -30 tomatillos
- 4-6 hot peppers (jalapeno, serrano, etc.)
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 onion cubed
- 4 limes juiced
- 1 bunch of cilantro (2 cups approx)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Peel the husks off the tomatillos and wash them thoroughly in cold water. Take half of the tomatillos and toss them in the oil. Lay these tomatillos on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them in a 450F oven for 20-30 minutes. The tomatillos should soften and start to brown in spots.
- In a food processor, add the tomatillos (raw and roasted), the cilantro, peppers (whole but with the stem removed), garlic, onion and lime juice. Blend until smooth and add to a pot. This will require multiple batches as they will not all fit in at once. It does not matter the ratio of each ingredient per batch as they will all be mixed together in the pot when cooking.
- Once all the ingredients are blended and in the pot, bring the salsa to a boil. Cook at a low rolling boil for 30 minutes.
- Pour into sterilized jars, seal with snap lids and give them a 30 minute hot water bath.
