I must have been ten or eleven. My mom was testing out a recipe from a friend and made this huge jar full of what looked like some primordial green stew. Herbs and vegetable chunks floating in a semi-transparent, vaguely swamp-water-ish-looking broth. I tried a bite and that's all it took. I was hooked. Tart, spicy, faintly sweet... this was some next level flavor.
Here we are a couple decades later, and tomatillo salsa (aka salsa verde) is still my hands-down favorite. After a lot of tinkering and trial-and-error over the years, this is how I get down:
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. I line my cast iron with some foil so I don't have to re-season it afterward.
Add:
10-12 medium tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
1 jalapeño or 2 serrano peppers
2 cloves of garlic
Turn tomatillos, peppers, and garlic regularly. Once the garlic has brown spots all over, remove from pan. When peppers and tomatillos are nicely charred, remove from pan and cool for about 10 minutes.
De-stem peppers, roughly chop, and place in a food processor with tomatillos and garlic. Blend until mostly smooth - you don't want any large chunks of tomatillos or peppers, but you're not looking for a sauce-like consistency.
Add:
1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of cilantro, thick stems removed
1 tsp of sea salt
Pulse a few times and taste. Salt if necessary. Sometimes, to tame the tartness, I add a little splash of honey. Totally optional, though.
Thin with water if you need to. Enjoy!
