SALSA VERDE SEASON

I eagerly await tomatillo season each year so I can make salsa verde. And the season is now!


Look for big, plump tomatillos at the farmers' market near you this weekend. You'll recognize them because they look like green tomatoes wrapped in a paper-thin husk.

Unlike tomatoes, tomatillos don't taste good raw. They need a little cooking to bring out their sweet, sour, piquant flavor. Plan on buying extra so you can whip up a big batch of Salsa Verde -- some to enjoy tonight with a few tortilla chips and a beer, and some to stow away in the freezer.

The recipe for Salsa Verde is about as simple as they come involving just three simple steps: peeling, boiling and puréeing. There are about a million delicious ways to enjoy salsa verde -- with chips, over enchiladas, as a sauce for grilled meats, chicken or fish. I make at least a double batch, use a cup or two over chicken enchiladas, then freeze the remainder in quart-sized Ziplok freezer bags.

SALSA VERDE

1lb tomatillos, husked
water
1-2 jalapeño peppers (or serrano peppers), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, washed
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp white onion, coarsely chopped
sea salt to taste
cilantro, for garnish

Peel:
Remove the husk from tomatillos, place in a sauce pan, and cover with water.

Boil:
Bring tomatillos to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until very tender and drain, reserving a bit of the cooking liquid.

Purée:
While tomatillos are cooling, add the jalapeños, cilantro, garlic and onion to food processor and pulse to purée. Add tomatillos and purée. If sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved cooking liquid to thin. Add sea salt to taste. Garnish with fresh cilantro.