Salsa Verde

It’s here! Summer has officially begun. Summer means one thing around our house,..Swim team. Well, that is, it used to. My last swimmer graduated from the swim team 2 summers ago, but I enjoyed preparing hospitality for the Timers, Judges and other Officials so much that I have stayed on.

Last week was the first A meet of the summer and I prepared a delicious offering of the following:

Mexican style Corn cakes with Salsas

Salsas

Guacamole

Mango Salsa

Tomatillo Salsa

Pulled Smoked pork shoulder in a Mexican sauce

Grilled diced chicken with cilantro and red onion

Mexican slaw

Homemade Mango Ice Cream

Churros

Some of the above are not my recipes, but many were. The Mango ice cream was achieved by taking half of a Vanilla Ice cream recipe that I had made a few days before (but had not gotten anyone to churn yet) and adding an equal amount of ripe Mango puree and the zest of 1 lime. The Mango puree took about 14 Mangos. I combined the three and stuck them in my trusty White Mountain ice cream maker. The result was super yummy.

So today I am going to give you the recipe for my Tomatillo Salsa, primarily because I had to take a picture to send to Tina. So I have pictures of this. There are only 2, but hey, this is a simple recipe.

You start with a pound of tomatillos, half of a small onion, 2-3 cloves of Garlic, and a Jalapeño pepper.

You wash them, skin the Garlic and Onion and place them on a grill pan.

You char them slightly. This should take 2-3 minute on a hot grill. No Grill? Stick them under a hot broiler. You want a little black, but you do not want to cook them through. You want to keep some of the acidity.

When they come off the grill, you place everything, but the Jalapeno in your blender. You need to pull off the stem of the roasted Jalapeno, and then you can stick it in with the rest. Note: If you don’t like your salsa spicy, slice open the Jalapeno and remove the seeds. You add a teaspoon of Agave syrup, juice from half a lime, a teaspoon of olive oil and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt. Pulse the blender to chop the salsa to the consistency that you like. Place it in a bowl and enjoy. Or you can put it in the refrigerator and have it the next day. This salsa gets better with a day or two of hanging out together.

The Churros were fake, but they were delicious so I will post that in the next day or two. They were also not my idea, but hey, you can’t originate everything. See you soon.

Salsa Verde or Tomatillo Salsa (Spicey Hot)

1 pound Tomatillos

1 Jalapeno pepper

½ medium onion (should be about ½ cup)

2-3 garlic cloves whole

1 teaspoon Agave Syrup

1/2 Lime

1/4 teaspoon of Salt ( you may want more)

1 Teaspoon olive oil

Wash the tomatillos and Jalapeño, skin the Garlic and Onion and place them all on a grill pan. Char vegetables lightly. Place Vegetable and other ingredients into a blender. Be sure to remove the Jalapeño stem before placing into blender. Remove Jalapeño seeds for a less spicy version. Use the pulse setting on your blender to chop the ingredients. Pour into a bowl and serve with chips. Or refrigerate overnight. This should last a week in your refrigerator.