Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillos from our garden.

There's nothing like fresh tomatillo salsa. That's why tomatillo plants have earned a permanent place in our garden year after year. Tomatillo plants grow like weeds.  The only thing is, you will need at least two plants or you won't get any fruit, just a giant bush with lots of pretty yellow flowers on it.

When the tomatillos first started coming in, we didn't have enough to make salsa, so we kept them in the refrigerator until we could use them.  A few of them have been in there for two weeks, and they've been just peachy.  This morning I harvested a few more pounds, so we finally had enough to make a substantial batch. 

This recipe made 9 - 10 cups of salsa.  Yes, that is a lot of salsa, but we're putting four cups of it straight into the freezer for a rainy day.  If there's any left after this weekend, we'll turn it into green enchilada sauce and make some veggie enchiladas.  You could also use the leftovers to make green posole or tomatillo soup.

Raw tomatillos, quartered onions, salt and water in the pot.

Ingredients:

3 - 3.5 pounds fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 white or yellow onions, skinned and quartered

1/2 Tbs salt

1 bunch cilantro, cleaned

1 - 2 jalapeños

4 cloves garlic

2 large limes 

Put tomatillos, onion and salt into a pot and add filtered water to just under the top row of tomatillos, about 5 cups.  Bring water to a boil, stirring occasionally,  then reduce to simmer and cover.

Uncover the pot and remove from heat once they're soft enough to be blended; usually after twenty minutes or so.  If at this point the water level is higher than the tomatillos, carefully drain some out to bring the water level back down to just underneath the top of the tomatillos.  I use a sieve so I don't lose any seeds or pieces of tomatillo that might be floating around in the water.

Using a ladle, add the contents of the pot to your blender or food processor.  You will have to do this in batches.  In the first batch, add the garlic cloves, cilantro and jalapeno so you don't have to dice it up by hand.  Once blended up, put into a bowl and start on the next batch.  If your salsa looks too runny, rest assured it will thicken a little once it cools.

When you're done, squeeze in the lime juice, give it a good stir and taste.  At this point you might want to adjust the seasonings.  I ended up adding a dash more salt; otherwise, I thought it was perfect.  

If you decide to add more garlic, cilantro or jalapeno, add a few ladles of salsa back into your blender or food processor along with the ingredients, and blend together to save yourself time.

This recipe made 9 cups of salsa.

Too much water in here.  We had to drain some out.

The finished product.  Delicious!!

Jarred up and ready for the freezer.  See you in the winter!

Be sure to label.