Tomatillo Salsa Verde

The bounty of summer harvest at the local farm markets produced lots of beautiful tomatillos, along with a wide variety of peppers. Right away, the thought of making a fresh salsa came to mind.

Don’t be disappointed if you don’t find cilantro in this recipe – it’s a personal preference for me – and I would celebrate you adding it to your liking. The other thing you won’t see is a huge pile of HOT peppers. I like the flavor of poblano, shishito peppers, hatch peppers and then just a couple of jalapenos to bring up some background heat.

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 to 10 tomatillos, depending on size, sliced in half around the equator
  • 1 medium onion, sliced into 1/3 inch planks (keep the rings together) 
  • 2 to 3 hatch peppers, roasted whole
  • 1 or 2 poblano peppers, depending on size, roasted whole
  • 1 to 3 jalapeno peppers, to taste, roasted whole
  • Shishito or other mild green peppers
  • 12 Garlic cloves, whole peeled cloves
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons Adobo seasoning (or seasoned salt)
  • 1-2 limes, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, for finishing
  • ½ teaspoon citric acid, to preserve flavor and color

METHOD

Turn broiler to highest setting and set the oven rack about 6-inches below the heat. 

Peel the skin outer husk/skin from each tomatillo and rinse under cool water. Cut each tomatillo in half around the middle (equator). In a large bowl, combine all vegetables with canola oil and seasoned salt, tossing to coat each piece evenly. You may need to work in batches.

Transfer vegetables to a rimmed baking sheet and arrange tomatillos cut-side-down along with all other vegetables; form a single layer. You may want to line you sheet pan with foil for easier clean up, but I have been skipping this step lately to avoid waste, even though it is pictured here.

Oiled, seasoned and ready to go under the broiler

Roast under the hot broiler for about 5 minutes and then begin checking every 1 to 2 minutes thereafter. Continue roasting until the skin of some vegetables begin to char (a good amount of charring will impart flavor) up to 10 or 12 minutes. Once cooked to your liking, remove and let the vegetables cool right on the tray.

Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers, leaving only the fleshy meat of each pepper, and discard skin if it peels off easily.

Transfer all cooked vegetables to a food processor, add lime juice and citric acid. Begin by pulsing 6 times, 1-second pulses each time. Remove lid and taste for seasoning; add additional salt or lime juice, if desired, and now add the finishing olive oil. Pulse 3 to 4 more 1-second bursts until desired consistency. Salsa should be chunky and not overly pureed. 

Adding a little more salt and more lime juice at the end, to taste.

USES

This salsa may be enjoyed, as it is, with corn chips for dipping. It is also a great accompaniment to pork or for use in your own recipes. For the pork, I would cut up a Boston butt roast into large 2 to 3 inch chunks, season and brown over medium-high heat in a dutch oven. Don’t over-crowd the pan; you may have to work in batches until pork is browned on all sides. Return all pork to the pot and cover with salsa. Braise in a 325 degree oven for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until meat is very tender (or transfer contents to a crock pot). Serve with warm tortillas – and enjoy!

Finished salsa – the amount pictured produced a scant quart

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