Salsa Verde

We eat a lot of salsa at our house.  So much so that we usually grow a garden consisting only of salsa ingredients: basically several varieties of peppers and tomatoes.  But I sometimes get bored of the red stuff, and then I make salsa verde.  It's green because it's made from green things:  tomatillos, jalapenos, greens chiles, limes and cilantro.  It's most often served with chicken, but is a versatile sauce that can be used on tacos and enchiladas or with chips.

Here's what you'll need:
1 lb tomatillos, cut in halves
1 onion, chunked
5 cloves garlic
2 jalapenos (if you want less heat, remove the seeds and white ribs)
1-2 TBSP olive oil
1 bunch cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1 can diced green chiles
1 tsp salt

Tomatillos may look like green tomatoes, but they aren't.  They're not even related!  They belong to the gooseberry family.  They are wrapped in a paper-like cover.  Inside the wrapper, their skin is sticky.

Remove their papers and run under water to clean them and remove the sticky residue.

Arrange the tomatillos, onions, jalapenos and garlic on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Stir to make sure everything is evenly coated.

Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally.  When they're ready, the tomatillos will look like they are deflated.

Scrape the veggies and their juice into a blender.  Add the cilantro, lime juice, salt and green chiles.

Pulse until smooth.  You may have to scrape down the sides a few times.

The salsa is now ready to be used.  We ate it over shredded beef tacos and with nacho chips.

This salsa will be fine in the fridge for a week or so.  In plastic containers, it will stay fresh in the freezer for several months.

Enjoy!