Green Tomatillo Salsa

justcallmetoni's Note:

Recipe by Rick Bayless and originally submitted by Mean Chef. I adopted this recipe in September 2006.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1.5 cups

• 8 ounces tomatillos , husked and rinsed (5 to 6 medium)
• hot green pepper (roughly 2 serranos or 1 jalapeno, stemmed and roughly chopped)
• 5 -6 sprigs fresh cilantro , roughly chopped (long bottom stems removed)
• ¼ cup finely chopped white onion
• salt

Directions:

1. Roast the tomatillos and chile (s) on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until darkly roasted, evenly blackened in spots, about 5 minutes.
2. Flip them over and roast the other side; 4 or 5 minutes more will give you splotchy-black and blistered tomatillos and chiles that are soft and cooked through.
3. Cool and transfer everything to a blender, including all of the delicious juice that has run out into the baking sheet.
4. Add the cilantro and the 1/4 cup water and blend to a coarse puree.
5. Rinse the onion under cold water, then shake to remove excess moisture.
6. Stir into the salsa and season with salt, usually a generous 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Reviews

[Jill77]

Fabulous! Rick Bayless is the best!I used serrano peppers, but they burned under the broiler, so I ended up chopping one finely and adding it to the blender stage. This made for a tasty and nicely colored salsa. My BF found it a bit spicy, and I was considering adding more cilantro or even some cayenne. So, I guess you could say this was mild-medium in heat. I loved it and will definitely make again. Thanks MEAN for getting this recipe to me. Glad I finally got the chance to try it.

[Chef #1111928]

Didn't know what to expect being this is the first time I've ever tried anything with tomatillos. What a great surprise! I followed the recipe except I didn't add the 1/4 c of water since I felt it was watered down enough with roasting the tomatillos. After the tomatillos cooled off a bit I put them and the rest of the ingredients into the food processor and blended it all together. Came out just right however I think next time I will add some fresh squeezed lime and more cilantro. Got the thumbs up from my family.

[Lt. Amy]

A good way to use up all the tomatillos in the garden. I made a double batch and it made a little over a cup of salsa. After it was done I thought it was missing something and added the juice of half a lime, that helped. I think more cilantro would have helped as well.