Skip to main content

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (Real Food, Paleo, Whole30, Vegan)

By



Enter any Mexican home, and I promise you, you will find some type of salsa readily available at any given time.  Every home cook has an 'every day' recipe - and experienced cooks have several recipes up their sleeve, each salsa specially designed to go with different types of meals, occasions, or holidays.  I am not joking!

And it really does not matter what meal is being served, salsa is always there waiting for someone to spoon into a nourishing soup, drizzle over the breakfast plate, or to jazz up some simply grilled or roasted meats and veggies for dinner.  Have leftovers?  Add some salsa and you've got a new meal!

This salsa is one of my 'every day' recipes, great to have on hand to spice up any meal, and perfect because it keeps well in refrigerator for several days.  My salsa uses tomatillos as the base, plus the typical dried arbol chiles, easily found in most well stocked grocery stores.  Dried arbol chiles can make salsas quite spicy, but less chiles can be used the first time around to test your palate - or, a few dried guajillo peppers, which are not normally spicy, can be used instead of the arbol chiles.

I place the tomatillos and garlic under the broiler, and keep a close eye while the ingredients char and soften.  Please remember to use a baking sheet to do this, and not a glass pan or a treasured Pampered Chef stoneware sheet.......I found out the hard way they will break under the broiler!

The chiles are toasted separately, and a close watch should be kept on the chiles.  They can go from toasted to burned rather quickly, and burn chiles will make your salsa bitter,

In a great, BIG pinch, canned tomatillos may be substituted for the freshly roasted ones, but the flavor may be dramatically different.


Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
  • 1/4 cup dried arbol chiles, stemmed (more or less, depending on heat desired - or substitute 4-5 dried guajillo chiles*, stemmed and seeds removed)
  • 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon real salt
  • water

Preheat the broiler and line a baking sheet, for easier clean up.  Place the tomatillos and unpeeled garlic on the prepared sheet and slide under the broiler.  Broil for a few minutes, until the tomatillos and garlic are soft and have charred on one side.  Using tongs, flip the tomatillos and garlic, and broil on the other side until the ingredients soft.  Remove the pan from the broiler and set aside to cool slightly.

While the tomatillos and garlic are cooling, heat a small  skillet over medium heat.  Add the dried arbol chiles to the dry skillet and toast the chiles, shaking the pan and turning the chiles constantly, until they smell toasty and the color has changed slightly - about 30 seconds.  Place the chiles in a blender jar.

Add the roasted tomatillos, along with any accumulated juices, peeled garlic, salt, and 1/4 cup water to the blender jar with the toasted chiles.  Blend until the salsa is almost smooth.  If the salsa seems too thick, add a little additional water until you reach the desired consistency.

Pour the salsa into a glass container, and serve or store, tightly covered, the refrigerator.  Makes a little over 2 cups of salsa.

*If using guajillos chiles, toast the chiles on a dry skillet, pressing them flat with a spatula and taking care to toast both sides before adding them to the blender.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Slow Cooker Menudo (Real Food, Paleo, Whole30, AIP Friendly)

By
Menudo , or tripe soup, is a traditional soup commonly served on a Sunday morning.  It is considered labor-intensive since it requires a very long cooking time, so it started the night before any plans to eat it, or made for special occasions. Due to its nourishing collagen-packed broth and mineral-rich protein, it has a cult following for those wishing to get rid of the Saturday night hangover! I remember my dad being the one prepping the tripe at night and I remember someone getting up during the night at various times to check on the pot of soup bubbling on the stove.  I also remember becoming a teenager and deciding I no longer would eat organ meats!  So I even gave up on all the other delicious ones, like tender beef tongue and beef cheeks.  I also happily gave up the ones I never liked - like liver and mushy brains.  Yes, brains...... As an adult, I decided being an adventurous eater was much more fun and I incorporated liver back in my diet.  And I realized that the liv
2 comments
Read more

Easy Instant Pot Beans (Real Food, Wapf, Vegan)

By
I recently started making beans on a regular basis for my family and I remember now how much of a comfort dish this is.  Best of all, it is one of the easiest dishes to make at home. Beans are a legume prized and eaten all over Mexico and, along with maiz, is usually served on a daily basis.  According to experts, there are possibly 200+ types of edible beans grown in Mexico, with beans being cultivated close to 7 thousand years ago.  And they were so valuable, that the Aztecs asked for them as tribute payments. Legumes, like grains, are super easy on the family budget and they can provide quality nutrition when prepared properly.  Beans are generally high in minerals such as magnesium, calcium, and iron, they also contain phytic acid - basically an anti-nutrient.  Phytic acid binds to minerals, like calcium and iron, and prevents the body from absorbing them.  Diets heavy in phytic acid can lead to developmental delays in children, tooth decay, brittle bones, malnutrition and
Post a Comment
Read more

Water Kefir Agua Fresca, Two Ways (Paleo, Real Food)

By
Mexico is the land of aguas frescas.  Agua fresh, literally means fresh water, and it refers to traditional fresh fruit and/or veggie drinks.  Aguas frescas are usually single-ingredient drinks, such as an agua de limon (a lime-ade), agua de pi ñ a (pineapple) or my favorite: agua de tamarindo (tamarind drink).  And some aguas are simple combos such as a lime and cucumber agua fresca. Interestingly, the lime and cucumber flavor is usually made with nutrient-dense chia seeds and is recommended for a healthy digestion. Walk down most streets, especially those around or in the town square, and you may find a vendor or two serving a variety of aguas frescas out of huge glass containers.  The drinks are then served in a plastic baggie with a straw, which is great while exploring the town!   During market day or special event, vendors multiply and make it hard to choose between tables of colorful options! I spent three weeks in Mexico last month and indulged in a lot of agua fresca.  
Post a Comment
Read more