Salsa de Tomate Verde (Cruda)

Salsa de Tomate Verde (Cruda)

Raw Tomatillo Salsa

This was the very first tomatillo recipe that I ever made!  It is from Diana Kennedy's ground-breaking tome The Cuisines Of Mexico.  It is made to be served with meats; she says carnitas or barbecued mutton.  But, take my word for this, it is great just as is with home fried totopos!!  It also makes a great sauce for tacos, the kind served properly with fresh cooked or toasted store bought corn tortillas.

1/2 lb. tomatillos
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 chiles serranos, chopped (this includes seeds)
2 tbsp. white onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup ice cold water
Salt to taste (I find 1/2 tsp. is fine)
2 tbsp. roughly chopped cilantro

1.  Remove the husks from the tomatillos, and rinse each well in cold water (my note:  they will feel sticky, that's normal), drain well.  Roughly chop (or slice) and place in blender (or food processor).  Add the garlic, the chopped serranos, salt and water.  Pulse on and off, until the contents are roughly chopped--DO NOT BLEND.

2.  Place this in bowl and stir in the onion and cilantro.  Serve as a dip with hot, freshly salted totopos or in any way that you like.

Variations:

Seed the chiles to make it milder.

Use different chiles, seeded or not.

Use native long leaf Culanto in place of the cilantro.

Use a milder onion.

Omit the garlic.

Make a Christmas salsa by adding in chopped fresh red ripe tomatoes.

Happy Halloween Harvest Season!