Homemade Salsa Verde

My sister-in-law recently visited us from out of state.  She was impressed by all the local produce stands and farmer's markets around Washington.  She found lots of goodies like a honey made locally, fresh red tomatoes, green and red peppers and tomatillos.  I had never heard of tomatillos before.  They are in the tomato family and originated from Mexico.  They are a staple in Mexican cooking and are used to make Salsa Verde- that spicy, green salsa I love to pour over my tacos.  She bought a bag full of them and decided to try her hand at making us some Salsa Verde one night for dinner to go with beef tacos. 


                                                                        Salsa Verde


Ingredients:


1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, papery husks removed, rinsed

2 Serrano Chile peppers, top cut off to expose interior and to remove stems

1 Jalapeño

3 cloves garlic

1 cup white or yellow onion, chopped

1/4 of a whole white or yellow onion

Salt

1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and chopped, stems included

cooking oil such as canola oil, peanut oil or grapeseed oil

3 Tbsp sour cream

Instructions:

Put the tomatillos and 3 Serrano Chile peppers in a sauce pan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the tomatillos are cooked, and have changed color, but are not mushy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomatillos and Serrano's to a blender. Add 1/2 cup of the tomatillo cooking liquid to the blender, as well as 2 cloves of garlic, a third a cup of your chopped onion, and about 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro (packed). (Remaining chopped onion and cilantro will be used for garnish.) Add one teaspoon of salt.

Purée until completely blended, 15 to 30 seconds. Taste for heat. If not spicy enough add another Chile pepper or Jalapeño (doesn't have to be cooked). Note that sour cream will eventually be added to the sauce which will cool down a lot of the spiciness. Add more salt to taste if necessary. Pour sauce into a skillet, bring to a simmer and let simmer for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat.

Heat the salsa verde sauce again until simmering, then remove from heat. Stir in the sour cream until well blended. 

Note:  We thought the salsa tasted better after being refrigerated for a while so the flavors blended together.  When your salsa is cooled, add to your favorite Mexican dish. 



A bowl of the tomatillos before she made them into salsa verde.


 Jalapeños, Serrano Chili's and onions are some of the fresh ingredients that make up this spicy and flavorfull green salsa.




She made us beef tacos on corn tortillas with green and red peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded mozzarella and the Salsa Verde. 
Yield: 4-6 servings
Recipe adapted from Simplyrecipes.com.