Charred Tomatillo Salsa (GF) – Culinary Seasons

I remember the first time I had a salsa made from tomatillos, I was in my teens. It awoke my senses, and I remember thinking wow, why haven’t I known about this before. The sweet, acidic flavors were a change from the typical jarred tomato salsa that I had grown up with.

For years I have made it a mission to grow my own tomatillos, they are easy to grow, don’t need tomato cages and may surprise you with how may you will get off of a handful of plants.

If you leave some of the spent tomatillos on the ground at the end of a growing season they will volunteer starts the next year. At that point, I usually transplant them to another location if there are several starting.

There are different varieties available depending on the nursery you may frequent. Every year or two, I will pick up a new pack of either purple tomatillo or some green tomatillos to give a fresh start with crops. If you have room in your garden, give it a try, plant a couple of plants and enjoy some fresh tomatillo salsa in the summer.

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As with many salsa recipes, the ingredients are flexible. I like to use Hatch Chiles when I can get them. Roast some Hatch Chiles over the open fire to blister like you would do roasting a bell pepper, let steam in a bag or plastic wrap covered bowl and peel skin and seed them. Add the pepper in place of the serrano peppers. Hatch chiles can range from mild to hot so ask your produce department what level they are. Tomatillo salsa can be done also by simmering the tomatillos for 5-10 minutes until they are softened. The onions can be raw and serrano peppers can be charred on the grill or fresh.If you do the boil method with raw onions remember there may be more onion bite than grilling.

Both ways are good. I have done both ways, depending on what i have time for or am in the mood for.