29 replies to this topic

[LindaK]

On a whim (and with memories of the great Cooking from "Fiesta at Rick's" topic), I put a tomatillo plant in my garden this year. It’s grown like crazy! Now I’m looking at tons of fruit with not much idea of what to do with it beyond basic salsa verde and sauce verde.

Are there other uses for tomatillos? What are your favorite ways to use salsa verde and sauce verde? Does anyone preserve or freeze them?

[David Ross]

I use tomatillos in salsa, but I will roast them first to get some char on the skins or I'll put them in a vegetable basket and roast them on the barbecue to get both char and some smoke flavor. It boosts the flavor of your salsa verde just a bit.

[nikkib]

Make a tomatillo jam - absolutely delicious! Also they work really nicely in a bloody mary - swap them for the regular tomato juice and use a jalapeno chilli sauce or green tabasco as opposed to the regular one.

[LindaK]

Make a tomatillo jam - absolutely delicious! Also they work really nicely in a bloody mary - swap them for the regular tomato juice and use a jalapeno chilli sauce or green tabasco as opposed to the regular one.

love these ideas. What do you call this drink? It would be green, so can't be "bloody."

[andiesenji]

How about tomatillos fritos

Or this - Fried green tomatillo grilled cheese

And there are stuffed tomatillos

In fact, you can core and stuff them with anything you would stuff in a pepper, such as a mixture of rice and meat, other grains such as quinoa and amaranth and so on.

You can eve make a pie substituting tomatillos for the green tomatoes.

In fact, you can use them in any recipe calling for green tomatoes.

[wkl]

tomatillo soup is delicious. plenty of recipies on the internet.

i like to roast in the oven to get a little char, then steep in chicken stock with garlic and seasonings. immersion blend and strain.

[Darienne]

Because I can't get them within 100 miles of where I live, I have frozen them as often as I can get them. Peel, wash, throw them in a bag. Done. (I'd appreciate knowing if this is the best way.)

As for using them, besides Andie's wonderful Chile Verde, I have used them in a Lime/Tomatillo Jam from Patti's Mexican Table.

Although I have never had leftover Tomatillos, I am hoping for a bit of a crop this summer in this far frozen northland.

ps. Weekend of the 27th, one friend is coming from NJ with a batch for me and another local friend is going to the States and has promised to bring me back a batch. Heck, I have even made arrangements with the Produce Manager in the grocery store to make sure they have some for me. Then, perhaps, I'll have your problem too.

Edited by Darienne, 13 August 2011 - 07:57 AM.

[Brasshopper]

Make a tomatillo jam - absolutely delicious! Also they work really nicely in a bloody mary - swap them for the regular tomato juice and use a jalapeno chilli sauce or green tabasco as opposed to the regular one.

love these ideas. What do you call this drink? It would be green, so can't be "bloody."

Spock's bloody mary, or Vulcan Bloody Mary?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

A tomatillo-based Bloody Mary with green Tabasco is obviously a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.

This said - have you tried quartering the tomatillos, then brining them overnight in about 5% salt solution, and quick-pickling them in sherry or balsamic vinegar with lime juice? I'm quite fond of them done that way on salads.

[nikkib]

Great names! i was stuck on a jealous mary or marys envy... one pangalactic garlebuster coming right up

[EatNopales]

Larousse de la Cocina Mexicana has recipes for Tarta de Tomatillo

Don't forget Mole Verde, Tomatillo "Ceviche", Pickled Tomatillos, Ancho Chiles stuffed with Tomatillos in Piloncillo Escabeche, Tlapiques (Whole Fish such as trout stuffed with sliced tomatillos, onions & chiles wrapped in corn leaves and cooked on the grill or comal) etc.,

[Dakki]

Take some of your favorite dried chiles, seed and toast them. I do 20 seconds each side on a very hot griddle. I favor morita (which the rest of the world calls chipotle - what we call chipotle they call meco, for some reason), cascabel, arbol, and guajillo. Mixing them is a good idea - morita can be overpowering. How much chile is up to you, 50 grams per kilo of tomatillo might be a good starting point.

Fry some onion (say 1/2 medium per kilo). Toast a couple of cloves of garlic in their skins until they're very soft while you're at it.

Remove the papery skin from the tomatillos and blanch the tomatillos in boiling water.

Throw everything in the blender with a little water (say, 1/2 cup per kilo) and a shot of vinegar or lime juice. Blend until it's a smooth consistency (you might have to do this in steps - this is one application where something like the Vitamix would work really well). Correct the taste with salt and spices - I like cumin and black pepper.

Substitute fresh, roasted hot green chiles for the dried to make a common salsa verde. I won't tell you to put in cilantro because I know you dislike the stuff. (This is how I make salsa for chicharron en salsa verde, btw.)

These freeze really well!

(Sorry for not posting this as a formal recipe - I don't measure ingredients when making salsas because chiles can vary so much in strength.)



By the way, tomatillo salsas don't have to be green. They can be all kinds of funky colors depending on the chiles you use. This is arbol. A little less chile and it would have been bright orange; about half as much, yellow.




EDIT: image link.

Edited by Dakki, 13 August 2011 - 02:16 PM.

[andiesenji]

Also, a salsa made with half tomatillos (oven roasted or grilled) and half mango or papaya, is excellent.

I also oven roast the smaller ones, cut in quarters and add to Walddorf salad, along with some poached chicken. Lovely combination of flavors and colors.

[LindaK]

A tomatillo-based Bloody Mary with green Tabasco is obviously a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.

Someone needs to start a drinks topic on this one!

....Substitute fresh, roasted hot green chiles for the dried to make a common salsa verde. I won't tell you to put in cilantro because I know you dislike the stuff. (This is how I make salsa for chicharron en salsa verde, btw.)...

You must be thinking of someone else, I love cilantro. I'll admit that I didn't always, but that was in a galaxy long ago and far, far away.

All these pickling, brining suggestions sound really good. First, though I think I'm going to try some of these salsas and sauces. And I'm going to be on the lookout for some good whole trout, I'd love to try EatNopales' suggestion for Tlapiques--it being corn season it's easy to have fresh corn husks left over from cooking corn (I know you said corn leaves, EatNopales, but hopefully the fresh husks will work, I'm unlikely to get my hands on the leaves).

[Dakki]

....Substitute fresh, roasted hot green chiles for the dried to make a common salsa verde. I won't tell you to put in cilantro because I know you dislike the stuff. (This is how I make salsa for chicharron en salsa verde, btw.)...

You must be thinking of someone else, I love cilantro. I'll admit that I didn't always, but that was in a galaxy long ago and far, far away.

Sorry, I could have sworn the OP was Darienne. I saw this and thought "Why is a mod telling me off this time?!"

This being the case, cilantro is good in the green salsas. I use about 1/2 bunch (finely chopped or blended) per kilo of tomatillo and then garnish whatever I'm making with some more cilantro, but I really like the stuff.

[mkayahara]

Make a tomatillo jam - absolutely delicious! Also they work really nicely in a bloody mary - swap them for the regular tomato juice and use a jalapeno chilli sauce or green tabasco as opposed to the regular one.

love these ideas. What do you call this drink? It would be green, so can't be "bloody."

Spock's bloody mary, or Vulcan Bloody Mary?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had this thought.

[judiu]

Make a tomatillo jam - absolutely delicious! Also they work really nicely in a bloody mary - swap them for the regular tomato juice and use a jalapeno chilli sauce or green tabasco as opposed to the regular one.

love these ideas. What do you call this drink? It would be green, so can't be "bloody."

Spock's bloody mary, or Vulcan Bloody Mary?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had this thought.

I was gonna say Martian Mary (you know, little green men?)

[suzilightning]

i use tomatillos in making a white chili after roasting tomatillos - about 1.5 lbs - with some poblanos. skin the poblanos, 1/2 or 1/4 the tomatillos and add to 2 lbs of center cut pork roast or loin cut into 1" pieces and browned off in some lard. add a sweet onion, bay leaf, oregano,tomatillos, poblanos, cumin and chicken stock. takes about an hour and a half but makes a good chili.

[EatNopales]

A tomatillo-based Bloody Mary with green Tabasco is obviously a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.

Someone needs to start a drinks topic on this one!

....Substitute fresh, roasted hot green chiles for the dried to make a common salsa verde. I won't tell you to put in cilantro because I know you dislike the stuff. (This is how I make salsa for chicharron en salsa verde, btw.)...

You must be thinking of someone else, I love cilantro. I'll admit that I didn't always, but that was in a galaxy long ago and far, far away.

All these pickling, brining suggestions sound really good. First, though I think I'm going to try some of these salsas and sauces. And I'm going to be on the lookout for some good whole trout, I'd love to try EatNopales' suggestion for Tlapiques--it being corn season it's easy to have fresh corn husks left over from cooking corn (I know you said corn leaves, EatNopales, but hopefully the fresh husks will work, I'm unlikely to get my hands on the leaves).

Linda I was sloppy on the husks / leaves distinction... I meant husks... fresh or dried... both are used traditionally, both work well.

Incidentally, last night I made Escabeche with green tomatoes (our tomato plants are getting close to delivering a killer bounty... might have to make some Amaranth crusted Green Tomato "Milanesas" soon... before the ripes overwhelm us)

[LindaK]

damn, white chili, escabeche...I'm getting very hungry. What are "milanesas??

[Goatjunky]

Roast and dice or even puree and add to guacamole. Really vibrant and fresh tasting

[Dakki]

damn, white chili, escabeche...I'm getting very hungry. What are "milanesas??

Thin slice of beef, breaded and panfried.

Wienerschnitzel, basically, although it's beef instead of veal. Latin America got it through Italy instead of Austria so cotoletta a la Milanesa (I have no idea how to spell that) became milanesa.

[Jaymes]

You can go through buckets of tomatillo salsa on chilaquiles.

And buckets more on Enchiladas Verdes, my personal very favorite enchiladas. In fact, when we go out for Mexican and I order Enchiladas Verdes, which I almost always do, I always ask for an extra portion of the sauce.

[andiesenji]

You can go through buckets of tomatillo salsa on chilaquiles.

And buckets more on Enchiladas Verdes, my personal very favorite enchiladas. In fact, when we go out for Mexican and I order Enchiladas Verdes, which I almost always do, I always ask for an extra portion of the sauce.

I bake thin "layers" of cornbread and spread my chile verde sauce generously on each layer, along with dollops of sour cream (homemade) then press the layers together, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two or three hours.
Makes a nice savory "cake" and the wedges are quite attractive.

Edited by andiesenji, 14 August 2011 - 05:28 PM.

[EatNopales]

damn, white chili, escabeche...I'm getting very hungry. What are "milanesas??

Thin slice of beef, breaded and panfried.

Wienerschnitzel, basically, although it's beef instead of veal. Latin America got it through Italy instead of Austria so cotoletta a la Milanesa (I have no idea how to spell that) became milanesa.

Yup. In addition in Mexico other forms of "traditional" Milanesa include Chicken Breast, Fish Fillet, flattened Shrimp, as well as (maybe more recently)... vegetable based Milanesas with Cauliflower & Zucchini being the more common ones I have seen cooked at home.

As to how vegetable Milanesas came about the story I heard from my mom is.. there is a more traditional dish Coliflor Capeada that has been prepared for centuries.. big hunks of cauliflower are simmered until somewhat tender then battered, then fried, then simmered in a tomatoe sauce... its a lot of work... and in the 70's cooking shows & recipe magazines focused on easier cooking popularized it as a shortcut to Capeados... so it has grown by extension any vegetable you can maneuver into a flat, wide "fillet" can be "milanesed"

[LindaK]

I picked some of my tomatillos this afternoon--but alas, when I cut into a few, they weren't ripe. This is my first time growing them, so obviously have a lot to learn. Does anyone know if they ripen off the vine, as tomatoes do?

There are still plenty in the garden, I just need a little more patience. In the meatime, if I see any in my regular farmers market, I'll pick some up, I'm anxious to try some of these ideas.

[Emily_R]

Linda -- what do you mean they weren't ripe? They're not supposed to be soft... If they've more or less filled out the husks, then they're generally good to go.

[LindaK]

Emily, yes, I know. I've used them before, but have never grown them. These were still mostly white inside and there wasn't much flavor to them. We had such a long, cold, rainy spring here, everything in the garden is late this year.

[CeeCee]

Like Darienne, I have trouble getting tomatillos. I did find a La Costena can, but I'm not sure if I could use it in recipes described above as these seem to call for fresh ones. Does anyone have any tips for using canned ones?

I feel a craving for an envy Mary now...

[janeer]

Like Darienne, I have trouble getting tomatillos. I did find a La Costena can, but I'm not sure if I could use it in recipes described above as these seem to call for fresh ones. Does anyone have any tips for using canned ones?

I feel a craving for an envy Mary now...

Honestly, canned tomatillos are an almost exact substitute for fresh. One of the best.