Mexican Salsa Verde

Remember that chilaquiles verde recipe? Well, you can make it even tastier and fresher by making your own Mexican salsa verde to cook it with, instead of using the stuff from a jar.

And it actually takes very little time or effort, because the oven and the blender do most of the work.

The only hard part may be getting your hands on some fresh tomatillos (small green tomatoes) – although I think this would probably be easier for my American friends than it would be for those in the UK.

Once baked in the oven, the tomatillos become sticky and sweet, making them easy to blend into a salsa or sauce. But do be aware that blending any kind of tomatoes can bring out their sweetness and acidity even more, so for a good flavour, it’s advisable to add cilantro / garlic / lime juice or all of those things to your salsa, to combat over-tomatoey-ness (I know that’s not a phrase, but just go with me, ok?)

Mexican Salsa Verde

Recipe by Julia

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 28 green tomatillos

• 1 cup chopped white onion

• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

• Juice of 1 lime

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp sour cream (optional)

• Garlic salt to taste

Directions

• Remove the husks from the tomatillos and rinse well. Chop them in half and lay cut side down on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little olive oil so that they don’t stick.
• Cook the tomatillos for around 20-25 minutes at 200F (400C) or until they are soft and slightly browned.
• Remove tomatillos from the oven and allow to cool.
• Place tomatillos in a blender along with the onion, jalapeno, lime juice and sugar. Blend the mixture until smooth.
• Season with salt to taste – I prefer to use garlic salt as this negates any acidity from the tomatoes and also gives a nice flavour.

Notes

• For extra creaminess (and to take away some of the heat), you can also stir in a spoonful of sour cream.