FRESH TOMATILLO SALSA
When I’m in my hometown of Berkeley, California, one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is go to the Center Street/Ecology Center Farmer’s Market. With my Canon 5D in hand, I find myself tasting and photographing everything…from purple radishes to purple carrots, and everything in between. I stumble upon on Tomatillos and decide to make Fresh Tomatillo Salsa or Salsa Verde. I love this recipe because it’s fresh and makes a beautiful addition to the table… and takes only minutes to prepare!
Living in Paris most of the time, it’s hard to find good Mexican food (there are a few good places that have started popping up: Candelaria in the Marais and Chilango, which is close to Republique), and even harder to find Mexican food products that aren’t super expensive. I laughed with Marc the other day because we went into Berkeley Bowl, a mainstay of local produce and provisions, and there was an entire aisle just for Mexican food and more than 30 different kinds of corn tortillas! Marc refers to it as my space mountain and it’s true. I can spend the morning looking at all of the amazing products and produce, including Tomatillos.
The tomatillo, also known as the Mexican husk tomato, is a plant of the nightshade family bearing small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. Tomatillos originated in Mexico and were cultivated in the pre-Columbian era.
- 8-10 fresh tomatillos
- ½ cup sweet onion
- 1-2 cloves garlic, to taste
- 1 serrano chili, to taste
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 Tbsp lime
- 1 tsp sea salt, to taste
- Dry roast the tomatillos in a hot cast iron pan for a couple of minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool..
- Chop the tomatillos and add them to a food processor. Pulse for 10 seconds.
- Once liquified, add the remaining ingredients and pulse for a few more seconds.
- Taste and you may want to add more salt and serrano chili for some extra spice!
