MICHELE'S TOMATILLO SALSA
Once again my friend Michele has given us one of her amazing recipes. This salsa goes great on pretty much everything. I love pouring it over my eggs in the morning, using it as a sauce for fish and chicken, or dipping fresh chopped vegetables into it. Here is what Michele has to say about this amazing salsa:
For this tomatillo salsa, I chose to use chicken broth, roasted peppers, and tamarind paste. These could be replaced with water, fresh peppers, and lime respectively.
The chicken broth helps to impart a more robust and slightly deeper flavor to the salsa, but also serves to help thicken the salsa when it cools, if water is used you’ll need to add more salt, but also be careful in how much of the cooking liquid you use as it won’t gelatinize as nicely.
Roasting peppers helps to tame the heat in them a bit, but that isn't why I chose to roast the peppers. When you get a good roast on a pepper the smell and taste become more complex and loses some of the harshness that fresh peppers have. To me when I make a fresh salsa I like to keep my peppers fresh as the bite enhances the fresh bright flavors in the other ingredients, but I think a cooked salsa benefits from having the more complex developed flavors that occur after roasting the peppers.
Tamarind has a great tart and sweet flavor, nearly as tart as a lime, but the sweet creates this great dichotomy of flavor that I love. I personally love to make sauces with tamarind, (try cooking honey with tamarind, lime, and ancho chili powder and put that on sweet potatoes! ). I think that lime could easily be used if you can’t find tamarind or don’t like having to pick apart the sticky paste from the seeds and shell, but I think that the tamarind in this salsa is really what makes it special, the combination of tart and sweet brightens up the savory flavors in a way that lime alone wouldn’t be able to. Feel free to make extra; you can place it in a freezer bag or Mason jar and freeze it (leave about an inch of space at the top and don’t tighten the lid all the way until it is frozen). I hope you enjoy it!
For this tomatillo salsa, I chose to use chicken broth, roasted peppers, and tamarind paste. These could be replaced with water, fresh peppers, and lime respectively.
The chicken broth helps to impart a more robust and slightly deeper flavor to the salsa, but also serves to help thicken the salsa when it cools, if water is used you’ll need to add more salt, but also be careful in how much of the cooking liquid you use as it won’t gelatinize as nicely.
Roasting peppers helps to tame the heat in them a bit, but that isn't why I chose to roast the peppers. When you get a good roast on a pepper the smell and taste become more complex and loses some of the harshness that fresh peppers have. To me when I make a fresh salsa I like to keep my peppers fresh as the bite enhances the fresh bright flavors in the other ingredients, but I think a cooked salsa benefits from having the more complex developed flavors that occur after roasting the peppers.
Tamarind has a great tart and sweet flavor, nearly as tart as a lime, but the sweet creates this great dichotomy of flavor that I love. I personally love to make sauces with tamarind, (try cooking honey with tamarind, lime, and ancho chili powder and put that on sweet potatoes! ). I think that lime could easily be used if you can’t find tamarind or don’t like having to pick apart the sticky paste from the seeds and shell, but I think that the tamarind in this salsa is really what makes it special, the combination of tart and sweet brightens up the savory flavors in a way that lime alone wouldn’t be able to. Feel free to make extra; you can place it in a freezer bag or Mason jar and freeze it (leave about an inch of space at the top and don’t tighten the lid all the way until it is frozen). I hope you enjoy it!
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Tomatillo SalsaPrep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins
Inactive: 30 mins Servings: 2-4 |
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Ingredients:
- 4 jalapeno or serrano peppers
- 3 large whole tomatillos, de-husked and washed
- Chicken broth (JUST enough to cover the tomatillos in a medium saucepan, about 1 -2 cups)
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 small white onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. pure tamarind paste
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
Equipment:
- Cutting board
- Kitchen knife
- Kitchen tongs
- Measuring cup
- Resealable plastic bag
- Butter knife
- Medium sized saucepan
- Stirring spoon
Directions:
1. To roast the jalapeno and/or serrano peppers, turn on the gas burner on your stove-top or grill and roast the pepper directly in the flame (hold the stem of the pepper with tongs). Once the skin looks blistered and has darkened, place the peppers in a resealable plastic bag and set aside for a few minutes. Placing them in the bag steams the skins and will help them peel easier. Remove the skins by scraping the pepper with a butter knife.
2. Place the tomatillos, chicken broth and garlic in a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat and add a dash of sea salt and pepper. Bring them to a simmer, stirring often. Add the tamarind, reduce the heat to low, and allow the sauce to simmer until the tomatillos begin to soften and the tamarind has diffused into the liquid (About 10-15 minutes).
3. Place the chopped onion onion and roasted peppers into a food processor or blender. Pour in the tomatillo mixture and process until mostly smooth. Add the cilantro and blend until incorporated. Taste and add additional sea salt and ground black pepper to taste. Allow the sauce to cool for about 30 minutes before using.
Note: The salsa will be a little soupy at first, but as it cools it will begin to thicken. You can also add less of the cooking liquid if you want a thicker salsa.
- 4 jalapeno or serrano peppers
- 3 large whole tomatillos, de-husked and washed
- Chicken broth (JUST enough to cover the tomatillos in a medium saucepan, about 1 -2 cups)
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 small white onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. pure tamarind paste
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
Equipment:
- Cutting board
- Kitchen knife
- Kitchen tongs
- Measuring cup
- Resealable plastic bag
- Butter knife
- Medium sized saucepan
- Stirring spoon
Directions:
1. To roast the jalapeno and/or serrano peppers, turn on the gas burner on your stove-top or grill and roast the pepper directly in the flame (hold the stem of the pepper with tongs). Once the skin looks blistered and has darkened, place the peppers in a resealable plastic bag and set aside for a few minutes. Placing them in the bag steams the skins and will help them peel easier. Remove the skins by scraping the pepper with a butter knife.
2. Place the tomatillos, chicken broth and garlic in a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat and add a dash of sea salt and pepper. Bring them to a simmer, stirring often. Add the tamarind, reduce the heat to low, and allow the sauce to simmer until the tomatillos begin to soften and the tamarind has diffused into the liquid (About 10-15 minutes).
3. Place the chopped onion onion and roasted peppers into a food processor or blender. Pour in the tomatillo mixture and process until mostly smooth. Add the cilantro and blend until incorporated. Taste and add additional sea salt and ground black pepper to taste. Allow the sauce to cool for about 30 minutes before using.
Note: The salsa will be a little soupy at first, but as it cools it will begin to thicken. You can also add less of the cooking liquid if you want a thicker salsa.
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