Salsa Verde

It's that time of year when produce, especially tomatillos, is plentiful. I'm lucky in that I live in Southern California and have easy access to local, organic produce. That being said, in the last 2 weeks I've acquired 50 pounds (that's not a typo) of organic tomatillos. What in the world does a person do with 50 pounds of tomatillos you ask? Make salsa verde of course! It's super easy to make and is way better than anything you'll get from a store. I canned mine to enjoy throughout the year but you don't have to do that. I'm going to show you how to make a single batch. You ready? Here's what you need.....

Tomatillos! This is approximately 20 pounds, unless you plan on canning 17 pints like I did, you only need about 1-2 pounds. The rest of the stuff..... serranos, garlic, cilantro and kosher salt (I forgot to include that in the picture)Husk the tomatillos and put them in a pot. Cover them with water and bring to a boil. Here's a great little trick my mother in law taught me. Tomatillos are naturally sticky and a bit bitter. When they just get to a boil, dump the water and put fresh, cold water in the pot. Bring the new water to a boil and cook about 10 minutes until they look like this....

You see the tomatillos have turned from a bright green to sort of a dull green and they look soft. They're done at this point. Drain the water and let them cool in a stainless steel or glass bowl. They're very hot at this point so you don't want to use a plastic bowl. Can you just imagine melted plastic bowl in your salsa? Gross!

While your tomatillos are cooking, grab your serranos and give them a quick roast on a cast iron skillet. How many serranos to use? Good question, it depends. How's that for vague? It depends on your heat tolerance. For a "medium" heat I use about 3 or 4 peppers per batch. You could go more or less depending on your likes.

Toss a clove of garlic, serranos, a small handful (or more again depends on your likes..... you could even leave it out) of cilantro and about 1 TSP salt in the blender and puree it. It helps to have your 4 year old throw things in while you take bad pictures of the process.

That's it. At this point it's going to be pretty warm so let it cool, and then put it in a jar in the fridge to enjoy.