I’m a fan of zero point recipes, and I’m also a fan of trying new things. On Saturday as I was cruising the farmer’s market, I noticed these beautiful purple tomatillos. I asked the vendor why they were purple and she told me purple tomatillos are very sweet. For $2, I was sold, and threw them into my bag to be made into a tangy salsa. (FUN FACT: Tomatillos are part of the GOOSEBERRY family and come from the family of nightshade plants, like tomatoes. (Have you heard of deadly nightshade? it’s what Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas slips into her vial. I love that movie.)
Purpliscious
Here’s what you need:
1 Pound-ish of Tomatillos, purple or green
1/4 large onion, cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves if you want to keep the vampires away (1 will do fine if not)
1 large handful of cilantro (the more the merrier if you’re feeling lean and green)
1 lime (lemon will do in a pinch)
Sea salt (a staple in every kitchen!)
Pepper (also a staple in every kitchen!)
No feet funk here!
1) Peel the paper husks off the tomatillos and rinse. Notice a strange aroma? Peeled tomatillos kind of smell like feet, in my humble opinion. A nice shower under the faucet fixes ’em up just fine. The paper skin is also kind of sticky. Like an artichoke, these aren’t the most glamorous vegetables, but they pack a tasty punch.
Mmm, tomatillo salsa thus far the color of vomit
2) Throw just the tomatillos into the food processor and press the button. Watch as you make salsa! Blend them up nice and smooth, and then stop the food processor and add your chunks of onion and garlic cloves. Squeeze in the lime juice. Press “GO” or “Blend” again and watch the chunks turn into puree. MAGIC!
3) Now, add your bunch of cilantro. I
love cilantro. This will help get rid of some of that gross barfy color, but if you’re using green tomatillos, yours won’t be so vomitous looking. Add in a few generous shakes of sea salt (like really generous, maybe more like 2 or 3 pinches), and lots of fresh cracked pepper.
And Voila! You’ve made tomatillo salsa! Easy, right? Despite my many comparisons to stinky feet and barf, tomatillo salsa is a wonderful accompaniment to tortilla chips, eggs, burritos, or even as a dip for veggies. It’s got a slightly sweeter and more tangy taste than tomatoes, and I think the little seeds are adorable… like polka dot salsa.
Yummy!
Are you a fan of tomatillos? Have you ever tried them? If not, will you? Or is their stinky feet skin stench too unappealing?
i love tomatillos. never had purple ones, i must admit. i love mixing them in enchilada sauce to cut some of the sting. or with fajitas (vegetarian for me) and sliced bell peppers and onions. and cilantro. i wish someone would make a cilantro air freshener. i love the way it scents the kitchen. mmm fresh salsa and margaritas!
I love that recipes are becoming a staple on your blog (esp. cause they’re on the healthier side!) you just might have to make this next time we have a girls night 😉
This would have been so good on my eggs this morning instead of Tapatilo!
I love tomatillos!
I haven’t seen these purple ones before though. Pretty awesome that they’re from the Nightshade Family. If I use them I’ll pretend I’m a witch making salsa out of little children…I guess that would make me a bruja though. Hehehe
My husband showed me a different way of making tomatillo salsa.
What you do is peel the stinky buggers, throw them in a pot full of water with a whole onion, some garlic and a spicy green pepper and let it boil until the skin starts cracking on the tomatillos. Then you toss the veggies and some of the water into a blender (we’re not fancy enough for a food processor yet) and blend!
It’s pretty easy and the salsa comes out yummy!
We do the same thing with regular tomatoes sometimes.
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