My latest food discovery is tomatillos. I'm not sure how I lived without really knowing what these tangy little green husked fruit were. I never really knew it was tomatillos that made "verde" salsas green; I always figured it was peppers only making it green. I still have so much more to learn about food. I didn't appreciate tomatillos amazing flavor till my husband and I started making spicy salsa verde ourselves. We wanted a new fresh way to use up our garden jalapenos. All we could say on our first taste was WOW! It was also unlike most salsas we've tried in restaurants.
Spicy Green Salsa
I love all sorts of salsa, mild to super spicy. This salsa verde however I can not enjoy any other way but spicy. Seriously, our spicy jalapenos from our garden are just the perfect addition to this salsa. I don't think I would enjoy it as much without the heat in this salsa; the short list of ingredients, especially the heat of the jalapenos just compliment this condiment so perfectly.
If you do actually enjoy spicy jalapenos, unlike the mild ones you usually get in most grocery stores, Craig's Grande are the ones we grow and it's quite a prolific plant. Highly recommend them for spicy food lovers!
Salsa Verde Heat
Now, I don't want to scare away the mild salsa lovers out there. If you're not into spicy salsa of any sort, just keep the jalapeno seeds out and reduce the jalapenos to one at the most, especially if you already know your jalapenos are spicy.
What are Tomatillos?
If you've never tried tomatillos or made a green salsa with them, here's your chance. They're slight tangy, tart and give you a great new way to dress your tacos, burritos, carnitas or even scrambled eggs. Seriously, they're that good! We've tried this salsa verde on so many different dishes and just can't get enough of it.
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What is Salsa Verde?
Verde means "green" so in the United States it can be called green salsa or salsa verde. In Mexico, salsa verde can be referred to as a tomatillo or avocado based salsa. In this case, it's the tomatillos that make it "verde" or green; also the jalapenos of course.
Give this tangy "hot" green salsa a try and let us know what you think or what you like it on. Enjoy!
PrintSpicy Salsa Verde
This recipe makes just slightly over 2 cups of salsa but we usually double it if we know we have multiple ways we want to enjoy it within the next week. Keep refrigerated and enjoy up to 1 week.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 Cups 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. tomatillos, husks removed, washed & de-stemmed
- 3-4 small jalapenos, washed & stems removed (2 if large) -if you don't like spicy remove the seeds and reduce to 1.
- ¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- ¾ cup white onion, diced fine
- ½ lime, juiced
- ¾ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat your broiler. Place the oven rack on the second spot down from the top, this gives about 5" from the heating elements.
- Place all tomatillos and jalapenos onto a dry heavy-duty sheet pan.
- Broil for 15-20 minutes, turning 2-3 times, about every 5 mins. The tomatillos & jalapenos will get a little charred but that's ok, don't panic. Watch them closely though, do not leave them. You want them to get a little soft, able to squeeze a little with tongs, and a little juice running out is fine.
- Place the roasted tomatillos, jalapenos, and cilantro in your food processor (a blender will work but we have found the food processor gives a better consistency) and pulse only 5-6 times or until it is semi-smooth. You want a few small chunks so don't blend it into a liquid.
- Once cool enough to handle carefully pour the mixture into a bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool a bit.
- Then add the chopped onion, salt and squeeze in the lime juice.
- Stir together and refrigerate till chilled. The flavor melds even more after been chilled a while and has even better flavor the next day.
Notes
If you like spicy, leave in the seeds, if you want mild then take them out. The heat level is completely subjective so I can't tell you exact amounts that will give you exact heat levels. I personally leave the seeds in, but I like it nice and spicy!
Keywords: salsa, salsa verde, green salsa, condiment
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