I am not sure why it never occurred to me that I could make tomatillo salsa with raw tomatillos. In previous summers I had made salsas with roasted or par-boiled tomatillos, but never with the raw, unadultered fruit.
The other day, in a hurry to come up with something to accompany the chiles rellenos I was working on, I decided to experiment. The result was an eye-opener. Not only was this the easiest salsa I had ever made, it was tart and tangy with just a little bit of heat (the jalapeño provided that).
It went perfectly with the rellenos, and equally well later in the week on eggs for breakfast, and again (when I made a second batch) on some pan seared albacore tuna. It goes with everything!
Here’s the recipe:
Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
Makes about 1 cup
8 – 10 medium fresh tomatillos, outer skin removed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
½ to 1 fresh jalapeño, seeds removed
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp coarse salt (more to taste)
freshly ground pepper to taste
Put first 5 ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and process until everything is chopped fine. Add salt and whir again. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serve as is, or let the salsa sit for about 15 minutes and drain excess liquid. Can be refrigerated for up to a week.
Quick, tasty and colorful — it’s a burst of summer in a spoon. I think you could also freeze it (if freezing works with pesto, why not with this?) and give yourself a reminder of summer months from now when the sun hasn’t shone for weeks.
knitting a life 