Salsa – Cooking through the seasons: the adventures of a San Diego Gastronaut.

Hello Gastronauts!

Last week our CSA gifted us with all the ingredients one needs to make some amazing tomatillo salsa.

To make the salsa combine the following in a blender, magic bullet or food processor – 6-8 tomatillos (de-husked), garlic (fresh or crushed), pepper (either fresh chopped pepper*, or dry red pepper), onions (green, white or red), 1 or 2 tomatoes (any kind), salt, pepper (ground black), cumin, sugar, lime juice and olive oil.

* please be careful when handling and cutting peppers. use gloves when possible and thoroughly wash hands afterwards. do not get near eyes, nose, or mouth. *

This is different from the Salsa Verde or Green Sauce you’ll find in restaurants. That is an equally awesome salsa to make from tomatillos,s and if it interests you, some recipes can be found HERE.

If you’re not familiar with the little ball of wonderful that is a tomatillo, check it out here: CLICK ME

As the link says – “The tomatillo fruit is surrounded by an inedible, paper-like husk formed from the calyx. As the fruit matures, it fills the husk and can split it open by harvest. The husk turns brown, and the fruit can be several colors when ripe, including yellow, red, green, or even purple. The freshness and greenness of the husk are quality criteria.

Tomatillos are a key ingredient in fresh and cooked Mexican and Central-American green sauces. The green color and tart flavor are the main culinary contributions of the fruit. Purple and red-ripening cultivars often have a slight sweetness, unlike the green- and yellow-ripening cultivars, and are therefore generally used in jams and preserves. Like their close relatives, cape gooseberries, tomatillos have a high pectin content. Another characteristic is they tend to have a varying degree of a sappy sticky coating, mostly when used on the green side out of the husk. “

So I love these little guys. Sweet but not overwhelmingly so, crisp ( like those old pickle commercials on TV when some kid would snap a pickle in two before chowing down,) and most fun of all – semi indigenous to San Diego. If you can get your hands on some for sure make a salsa, slice them up for a summer salad, pan sear them with onions and olive oil to top a nice piece of fish, or just snack on them whole.

HAPPY EATING!!

-SUSANNAH