
Is it a salsa or an enchilada verde sauce?
Spicy Tomatillo Salsa is something I have had at Mexican restaurants but I never really jived with it, until now. This Spicy tomatillo salsa is tasty and versatile It can be enjoyed as a spicy salsa but it is also great as a verde sauce for chicken enchiladas. Using all fresh ingredients this salsa is a winner and one that anyone who likes spicy salsas should try out. This tomatillo salsa will become a staple in your repertoire of recipes.

What is a tomatillo?
First let’s address what is a tomatillo. Tomatillos looks like baby green tomatoes in a husk but they are not. They are a fruit and have a tangy flavor. They are often in the green sauce you eat at Mexican restaurants. I started playing around with tomatillos a year ago. Recently I a friend suggested Chicken Enchiladas verde because I had some shredded chicken I needed to use. My friend, Adrianne, told me to buy a bottle of green salsa for my enchiladas. But why buy bottled when fresh salsa is so easy? I immediately went to the grocery store in an attempt to make fresh tomatillo salsa that could double as an enchilada sauce.

Roasted garlic to give this Tomatillo Salsa depth
I sort of jumped right in and thought I need an onion, and some spicy peppers, so why not add jalapenos and serranos to poblanos, once I even used some Hatch chilis. I absolutely love roasted garlic and usually roast about eight cloves every two weeks to have roasted garlic on hand for recipes. In this case you can roast the garlic while you cut up the other ingredients. I believe the roasted garlic adds a deeper flavor to this spicy tomatillo salsa. The flavro roasted garlic adds to this salsa is worth the extra effort. Throw in some tomatillos, lime juice and a little salt and you have just made tomatillo salsa.

Spicy means peppers
At our house spicy is the norm. I decided in addition to poblano peppers I would toss in the obligatory jalapenos. Jalapenos do not have a consistent heat. One might be hot , while another might not be. For real heat we have the serranos. I know enough about using hot peppers that a little lime juice goes along way in complimenting the heat so in went the juice of a lime. I threw in a few Hatch chilis when they were in season instead of the jalapenos and it was next level spicy but so good!

But wait you need to remove the waxy outer layer of your peppers
A funny thing about hot peppers is that they all have a waxy layer. To deal with this we roast all of them and then give them a minute to three minutes under the broiler. But wait there’s more. After you have a good char on the peppers you are going to remove them directly from the oven into a bowl and then cover it with saran wrap. This allows the peppers to steam. I leave them in the bowl for about thirty minutes.
Leaving the peppers in a bowl covered with saran wrap allows the peppers to steam and make peeling off that outer layer a little easier. Once time is up you should be able to peel that out layer off of all the peppers. Keep all those seeds! The seeds will give you some good spice. If your skin is sensitive to peppers, find yourself some throw away non latex gloves when handling the peppers. Once all of this is done you will have a spicy tomatillo salsa that is tasty and versatile

Blend it all together in a blender for Spicy tomatillo salsa that is tasty and versatile
While the peppers are under saran wrap go ahead and drop the garlic, tomatillos and onion into a good blender. Using a blender instead of an immersion blender once you add the peppers, will prevent all of the peppers juices from possibly getting in your eyes. Once everything is nicely blended together, add in fresh lime juice and salt, blend quickly and your salsa is ready. It will be hot since the peppers are still hot when you blend them. I like my salsa chilled before I serve it. If using with enchiladas it doesn’t need to be chilled but I would still let it cool a little before adding it to my enchilada filling.
Versatile sauce
This spicy tomatillo salsa is so versatile, you can eat it as salsa. You can use it as an enchilada salsa sauce, but I might double it to have more to pour over the enchiladas. You can add it to eggs, chicken or anything you might add salsa to. The prep time is short and the roasting time is about 25 to 30 minutes which gives you time to prep other parts of your meal. The freshness of the salsa makes the effort worth it. Go ahead, give it a try and tell me that this is not the best tomatillo salsa. A spicy Tomatillo salsa that not only tastes amazing but is also versatile.
Spicy Tomatillo Salsa
Equipment
- blender
- baking pan
- foil
Ingredients
- 6 cloves Garlic, roasted
- 1/8 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 Poblano peppers
- 3 Jalapeno peppers
- 2 Serrano peppers
- 1 lb Tomatillos usually about 10 nice sized tomatillos
- 1/2 Red onion
- 1 Lime, juiced
- 1/8 teaspoon Salt
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