Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe
This year tomatillos graced our garden for the first time. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but sakes alive have they grown like crazy. Tomatillos are a smallish green fruit covered with a paper-like husk.
For years I’ve made fresh salsa but never salsa verde. Salsa verde is a tangy, zesty salsa, usually milder than tomato salsas.
Wanna make some? Here’s what you’ll need: tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, garlic, cilantro and salt.
Under that papery skin, tomatillos are a little sticky, so you’ll need to wash them in warm water to remove the sticky stuff.
I soaked mine in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes, then rinsed them well.
Next is a quick roasting of the garlic, onion, jalapeños and tomatillos. Chop the onion in half, crush the garlic, and leave the jalapeños and tomatillos whole. Roast on a baking sheet in a 400°F oven for about 15 minutes, turning all halfway through roasting time.
When roasted, the tomatillos will turn a warm yellow in color.
Peel the garlic, deseed and rough chop the jalapeño, and peel and rough chop the onion.
Next, is the processin’ of it all. Basically, throw all the roasted ingredients, along with the cilantro and salt, in a food processor and whirl away. There’s no real right or wrong order or way to process the salsa, but I always like to start with the spicy stuff first.
I like to make sure it will be chopped up into small pieces. It’s no fun biting into a honking big piece of jalapeño, or maybe you like that sorta thing?
For this salsa I followed the jalapeños with the onion.
Then the tomatillos.
You can see that I’m starting to push the limits of my food processor here. Finally add the salt and cilantro, and pulse a few more times.
Looking good!
Serve with chips, veggies or even as a hotdog topping. Yes, it’s a yummy replacement for relish. Yes, yes it is.
Enjoy!
Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe
(makes a bunch – about 5+ cups*)
Ingredients:
2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed & washed
6 jalapeños
4 garlic cloves
1 medium-large onion
2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
Chop the onion in half, crush the garlic, and leave the jalapeños and tomatillos whole. Roast on a baking sheet in a 400°F oven for about 15 minutes, turning all halfway over through roasting time.
Peel the garlic, deseed and rough chop the jalapeño, and peel and rough chop the onion.
In a food processor, add all roasted ingredients, plus cilantro and salt and pulse until all ingredients are chopped and desired consistency is reached.
*This amount pushed the limits of my food processor, so you may want to half the recipe, or process in batches if you’re concerned with overflow.
Enjoy!
Read MoreOn the road again…
Foodie friends please don’t disown me. I gotta keep it real. And real around here lately has been one long ride on the crazy train.
Where we live is conveniently located in between 3 towns – about 15-20 minutes from each, creating one big triangle. It’s convenient in that we can usually find what we’re looking for in at least one of the three towns. But what has been a booger lately is that all of our spring time activities, practices, rehearsals, and just general end of the school year stuff are spread out among the three towns.
So, even though each destination may only be 20 minutes, when you have to go to 2 or more of the vertices of the triangle, it makes for a long day. Not smart planning on my part. But in the last weeks “planning ahead” has meant what’s happening in the next hour or so.
My chauffeur hat definitely needs some rest.
“I will survive! I will survive! Hey, hey! …”
Ahem.
Anyway, needless to say, the meal planning around here has been nil to none. That would also explain my lack of regular recipe posts lately. But they’re coming! I promise. Don’t worry, we’ve been eating, and I’ve been cooking, but it’s usually rushed and thrown together.
What I want to mention today are a few prepared foods I’ve been grabbing for snacks on the road. Yes, they’re pre-packaged. And yes, I know, there are simple, quick fixes I can make at home for times like these.
I feel I’ve failed my foodie friends that daily offer up simple, healthy options. Like this homemade White Chocolate Cherry Granola, from Jessica at How Sweet It Is, that I’ve been meaning to make since first laying my eyes on it.
Maybe this time next year I’ll be better prepared, but for now I’d like to show you some of the snacks that I’ve been happy to have on hand. Please note that no one has paid me, sweet talked me, or given me free stuff to mention these products. They’re just things I’ve found, and like, so I thought I’d share them with you.
First off are these nut mixes from Planter’s, called Nut-rition.
I like the Omega 3 mix and Energy combo the best. They’re nutty, and crunchy and a little chocolatey too.
Next, these little triangle of cheese surprised me.
They’re The Laughing Cow® spreadable cheese wedges in Light Original Swiss. I’d never had them before a couple of weeks ago but yuuuum! Spread on a cracker or just eat it alone and it hits the spot. Seriously satisfying for such a little bite, or two.
More triangles. I literally ran through the grocery store to pick up a few items for dinner between dropping one kid and heading to pick up another and grabbed a bag of these, riceworks® Sweet Chili gourmet brown rice crisps.
What a big surprise. They’re gluten free, with no preservatives, and full of flavor and crunch. My new favorite chip.
Now this final combo was a really desperate attempt at meeting a late afternoon craving when home for a few minutes. The ginger snaps were recently purchased for a pie shell that I’ve yet to get around to making, and the Nutella has been a regular item in our pantry for a while.
No doubt that Nutella on a stick probably tastes great, but you’ve gotta try this combo.
Well, that’s all. Hope I’ve not been too much of a bad influence. I’m hoping to have some more real food recipes up soon!
Do you ever have those weeks (or months) when you’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off or am I the only one? Any favorite snack foods for those times? Do tell.
(Again, I’ve not been bought, coerced, threatened, or brain washed into mentioning any of these products. I just like em.)
Read MoreScalloped Potatoes with Leeks & Thyme
This was my first year growing leeks. Even though I started the seeds at the wrong time a harvest of small leeks made their way to my kitchen. And while the leeks were on the puny size compared to the store bought variety, the flavor more than made up for their lack in girth.
Accompanied by fresh thyme the leeks are perfect in scalloped potatoes. A little butter, olive oil and white wine to round out the party and you’ve got yourself an unbelievable savory dish that’s the perfect addition to any meal. (Please forgive the lighting on some of these pictures. It was night and light wasn’t right.)
After cleaning and chopping the leeks…
And washing and slicing the potatoes…
In a saucepan bring the potatoes milk, salt and pepper to a low simmer.
In a separate pan saute the leeks in butter and olive oil until brown.
Like this.
Oh, I wish you could smell this. One of my favorite aromas – butter and leeks or onions. Yum. After browned, add the white wine and thyme. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Add the leek mixture to the potatoes and milk. Mix well and carefully pour into a buttered baking dish.
Bake in a 350° F oven for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are done.
Now go and tell all of your family and friends that the potatoes burned, hide in the laundry room and eat them all yourself. Or you could share them I guess. Whatever tickles your fancy.
Scalloped Potatoes with Leeks and Thyme Recipe
serves 4 (or 1 potato lover)
Ingredients:
- 4 cups sliced potatoes (I used new potatoes but use what you like.)
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup rough chopped/sliced leeks
- 1/4 cup white wine (I used Chardonnay, but again, use what you like.)
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- Additional Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a saucepan heat potatoes milk, salt, and pepper to a low simmer.
- In a separate pan heat the butter and olive oil over medium-medium high heat. Add the leeks and cook until browned. About 5-8 minutes.
- When browned, add the white wine and thyme to the leeks and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Add the leeks mixture to the potato and milk. Mix well and pour into a buttered baking dish.
- Bake in 350° F oven for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are done.
Enjoy!
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