tomatillo gifts

A tomatillo has the nicest wrapping.  A star shaped husk of light green swaddles the tartest of green orbs; fruits known by me to make the simplest of foods sparkle.  Tonight I made up a spicy tomatillo salsa to slather upon wild mushroom tamales.  In the morning it will surely dress up the scrambled eggs.   It's good too with beans and rice, with chicken and cheese enchiladas, with poached eggs and tortillas...

I think I need to figure out a way to preserve this goodness.  I'm sure it's as simple as canning tomatoes since the fruits are so acidic, but my trusty preserving bible doesn't say much about the tomatillo.  The salsa would make a great gift for those who like a bit of spice.  And, wouldn't you love to have a shelf in your pantry lined with these jars of prettiness?  Maybe next year... for now it's one batch at a time.  Here's the recipe:

Tomatillo Salsa, adapted from Mark Miller, Stephan Pyles & John Sedlar's Tamales

30 tomatillos, husked, washed, blackened (stick them under the broiler until the skins start to blister and pop), and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, roasted (stick them on the broiler pan with the tomatillos for a few minutes)
1 bunch of chopped cilantro
3 chiles in adobo sauce, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons of adobo sauce (yes, it's that stuff in can... use more or less to control the heat)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar

Whirl all of the ingredients in the food processor until it's not too chunky, but not too smooth.  The little one pushed the pulse button with glee about ten times.  It was just the right amount of whirling.  Yields about 3 cups. 

As they say at Cafe Pasqual's in Santa Fe, the place I learned to appreciate the tomatillo, panza llena, corazon contento (full belly, happy heart).  Enjoy!

Comments

[kate]

yum! or "num-num" as my daughter would say.

tomatillos are a favorite of mine, too. i freeze the salsa. i used to love hot water bath canning, it seems so romantic, but then i realize how much easier, faster, and tastier freezer jam and salsa is! you can freeze no matter what the pH, and can use ziplocks or glass jars (just be sure to leave extra head room).

do you ever listen to greg brown? he has some wonderful canning inspired songs.

[Kelli]

That seems like a truly fabulous gift!

[Wild Rose]

Isn't nature's presentation beautiful? Such delicate wrapping ~ and your salsa sounds delicious.

I hope that you managed to get out and enjoy your snow days. We had our first significant storm yesterday and have been busy digging out.

Marie x

[cyndi]

gorgeous post. the salsa sounds yummy! oh how i miss spicy mexican food.

[Amber]

Wow, that sounds wonderful! I'm a huge tomatillo fan and I use them in many of my salsas.

Hmmm, that's interesting that you can't find any canning information---you'd think it would be out there for salsa verde.

I like to make what I call Santa Fe Chicken Enchiladas---a recipe from the bakery where I used to work. One of these days, I'll post the recipe (it relies heavily on tomatillas)...

[Stacey]

Oh Cafe Pasquals is one of my favorite places to eat on earth. I don't think tomatillos grow here in Vermont but in Denver they were growing like weeds in our community garden. I love the little Japanese lanterns that hold them as they grow, until they burst through.