Someone's in the kitchen with Dinaaaahhhhh!!!

Almost a year ago I posted recipes for two kinds of vegetarian enchiladas. I'd had to use salsa verde from a jar and speculated that it would be much tastier with homemade sauce.

Recently I found fresh tomatillos at the grocery store and picked up a pound. What follows is the recipe I used and believe me when I say it's a world of difference from that jar stuff.

Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
1lb Tomatillos
6-8 Anaheim chilies
1/2 cup onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano

Directions:
Remove the husk from the tomatillos and wash. Slice the tomatillos into wedges. In saucepan combine everything and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Pour it into a blender and pulse to desired consistency.

Notes:
This is a 'flavor' sauce and not a 'heat' sauce, so it's pretty mild as is. Replace the chilies one-for-one with jalepeno's for extra zing. I used Anahiems, which seem to be available everywhere, instead of the roasted and peeled New Mexico chilies called for in the original recipe. I also cut back on the broth so as to make a chunkier, thicker sauce.

If you're making this strictly vegetarian, replace the beef broth with vegetable broth.

About Tomatillos - the most common description of their flavor I find is 'lemony', but they remind me of a lighter and less acidic version of regular tomatoes. When you buy them, they'll be wrapped in a loose papery shell which you peel off. Wash them well, because the inside skin is sticky and has a bitter taste before washing. With the husk off, they look like small unripe tomatoes on the outside, while the inside reminds me of a kiwi with white seeds. A little odd, but tasty.

Posted by Ted at September 25, 2004 11:55 AM | TrackBack