I mentioned in another post that tomatillos are one of those vegetables (fruits, really) that I've seen at the farmer's market for several years now but never bought. I think I was intimidated by their papery wrappings. However, since they're so readily available I began to imagine that almost everyone else in New York buys them regularly and cooks with them (or else decorates with them?), and I wondered if I was missing out. So this weekend, I decided that it was time to overcome my hesitation and give them a try. I bought just three to get started.
Once I got them home, I surfed around for tomatillo recipes and found that almost all the recipes were for sauces. I suppose I should have known that. So I prepared them for use - took the green fruits out of their papery surroundings, washed them well (they have a sort of sticky coating on them), and then boiled them for five minutes (apparently roasting is also recommended, but it was already way too hot in my apartment to think of turning on the over, however briefly). Then I made them into a sort of mild salsa verde by putting them in a food processor with onion and cilantro and lime juice. Very easy, and the sauce was a nice accompaniment to some chili I made for dinner that night. I still have some left that I plan to use with chicken or fish or whatever other potentially mild-tasting food comes my way. (I think Mexican-style salsa verde usually also includes hot peppers, but I didn't have any and I am still happy with my rated-G version).
Strangely, I didn't even realize I had a food processor until I almost bought one earlier this summer to dispose of some leftover basil and parsley via pesto sauce. When the man in the appliance shop brought out his smallest food processor, I remembered that we had a hand blender at home with an attachment that looked suspiciously like what he was about to sell me. I went home and investigated, and the hand blender did indeed come with a small plastic compartment with a blade and chopper that's perfect for modest food-processing needs. Since then, I've been delighted to use it for sauces like this one... parsley in particular is supposed to be extremely good for you, with lots of antioxidant properties, and so it's great to be able to eat it raw in a very tasty way. In fact I began to wonder why pesto, with its raw nuts and herbs, isn't touted as a health food... but perhaps that's because of the abundance cheese and oil! But that's what makes it delicious.
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