Tomatillo Salsa

Today I made Chili, Corn Bread, Brown Rice, and Tomatillo Salsa. Before we discuss the amazing yumminess that is our friend the tomatillo, a word about corn bread. Lots of different corn bread recipes you will find online or in cookbooks are great, use whichever you like, but there is one thing they all leave out, which is this: use fine ground cornmeal, not regular/course. It makes all the difference in the world.  And now the tomatillo…

The tomatillo, if you are not familiar with it, is kind of like a cross between a tomato and a lemon. If you want a real definition of the tomatillo, see this very informative one from wickipedia, about half of which I don’t really understand, science not being my strong suit.

I came up with this recipe last year when I was living on the farm. It is super easy to make, which always gets bonus points from me, seeing as how anything ungapatched (Yiddish for overly complicated) is not in my repertoire. Our tomatillos ripened in early fall, and though they were plentiful, the skeletal staff left after the summer rush was not so much plentiful enough to eat them all. Enter tomatillo salsa. Actually first entered pickled tomatillos, and though I have heard the canned vinegar kind can be good, the lacto fermented kind we tried would not make it onto my recommend list, which still seems odd to me since pickled green tomatoes are awesome. But I digress. Next up was tomatillo salsa.  Inspired by salsa verde, the green salsa made from roasted tomatillos which is a staple of Mexican cooking, I decided to try my own, but made with raw, not roasted, tomatillos. Raw tomatillos taste really light and fresh, retain their lemony flavor nicely, and cut the richness and spiciness of Chili and various other spicy rich foods really well.

Tomatillo Salsa:

About 12-15 tomatillos, or whatever fits in your food processor, skin off and washed

5 cloves garlic

1 hot pepper

1 bunch cilantro

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

Salt & pepper to taste

Pulse till well blended and serve with chips, on chili, or wherever else you can imagine it being yummy….

Happy Eating!