Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

 

Every few years I plant tomatillos. They tend to be easy to grow and produce prolifically. This year has been no exception in my garden, although the plants are particularly robust, bushing out all over their raised bed space, while the fruit production is just moderate based on my previous experience. That still means that there are plenty of tomatillos to work with.

I grilled some, along with onion and chile to make a grilled version of green salsa. The piquant sauce gets a subtle, smokiness from charring the vegetables on the grill. I use a gas grill and a grill pan, although you could grill your vegetables however you like.

You also could roast the tomatillos and onions in the oven if you can’t or don’t want to use a grill. You could skip the charring altogether, but you should cook the tomatillos in some way. Simmering them in water until they are tender would work, as would using canned tomatillos, which are already cooked. As long as I felt like it was still grilling season, however, I was happy to do things that way.

 

You may get some variation in this salsa depending on how tart your tomatillos are and how spicy your chile pepper is. It would probably be simple to adjust the flavors with more or less lime juice, or even a bit of sugar, honey, or agave nectar, if it needs some sweetening. You can also adjust the amount of chile you add to suit your taste for spiciness.

This salsa is a delicious mix of the complex flavors of tomatillo, chile, cilantro, and lime. It’s great anywhere you like to use your favorite salsa: with tortilla chips, on a big plate of nachos, in burritos, on quesadillas, on a bowl of beans. You don’t need me to tell you this. Salsa is fun stuff, and since this one also uses the grill and the garden, I found it even more fun! And delicious!

 

Coming up: I have a cookie recipe I need to tell you about, but I can’t find my notes on it, so I’ll have to make more cookies. The sacrifices I make for my art….

Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

Adapted from The Best International Recipe

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and sticky residue scrubbed away

½ medium white onion, cut into wedges

1 medium green chile pepper

½ teaspoon coarse salt

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

1. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the whole tomatillos, onion wedges, and whole chile pepper in a grill pan on the grill. Alternatively, cover the grill rack with foil and place the tomatillos onion and chile on the foil.

2. Grill the vegetables, turning them occasionally, until they are charred all over and soft. Remove each item from the grill when it reaches the desired state and continue until everything is finished.

3. Place the grilled tomatillos and onion in the bowl of a food processor or in a blender jar. Add the salt, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. Process until smooth.

4. Remove the stem from the grilled chile and discard. Chop the grilled chile very finely. Stir into the tomatillo mixture. Taste the salsa for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice if needed. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes about 2 cups. The salsa may get very thick upon standing. You can stir in some water or lime juice if needed.

Other recipes like this one: Spicy Cilantro Mint Pesto, Cucumber Salsa with Cilantro and Mint, Tomato and Cucumber Pico de Gallo

One year ago: 12 September Favorites