Homemade is always better. And less expensive. And healthier. Don’t reach for another jar at the store until you try making your own Homemade Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. With red wine vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce, this is robust in flavor.
Making Homemade Salsa
Where would we be without salsas? Game day would be less zesty, and our corn chips would be very sad and lonely.
I’ve started making my own Salsas. About time don’t you think?
As many Mexican and Southwestern meals that come out of this kitchen, it seems silly to reach for those jars at the store.
Plus, it seems I’m always trying a new brand every chance I get to find a flavor profile that I love. They always come up short handed, with something not being quite right.
So I’ve taken to my own test kitchen, researched recipes and ideas and after a few experiments have come up with a Homemade Roasted Tomatillo Salsa.
One that I think tasted like it should. One can call this Salsa Verde or Green Salsa using fresh tomatillos.
What’s a Tomatillo?
A tomatillo is a small round fruit that’s encased in delicate paper husk.
Tomatillos are indigenous to Mexico and Central America, they’re also known as husk tomatoes or tomatoes verdes.
They’re related to the tomato and widely used in Mexican cooking lending a tart zesty flavor to sauces and salsas. Their tangy citrusy flavor turns slightly sweet when cooked.
To prepare, just remove the paper husks and rinse.
I can readily find tomatillos at my local Safeway or King Soopers, I hope you can too.
But What Do I Use Tomatillo Salsa For?
Everything! Ok, well maybe not on cereal.
It’s delicious on Chorizo Potato Shiitake Mushroom Tacos, Scrambled Eggs, Burritos, or even on a simple grilled steak … anything Mexican or Southwestern that comes out of your kitchen.
It’s basically just a different flavor profile than your favorite red tomato salsa.
Besides a dip for tortilla chips, here are some recipe I’ve used this green salsa for:
- Roasted Green Chile Chicken Soft Tacos
- Breakfast Tacos
- Award Winning White Bean Chili
- Margarita Fish Tacos
- Black Bean Chicken Tostadas with Tangy Romaine
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Recipe
Why this recipe works:
- The tart tomatillo gets a sweet caramelized flavor when pan seared.
- The recipe calls for red wine vinegar which brings a hot and robust acidity to the recipe.
- And Worcestershire Sauce, sweet, savory and a bit tangy brings the whole flavor experience together.
With that said, I hope you give this recipe for homemade salsa verde a try. And if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.
And if you have a favorite green salsa recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Salsa Recipes
- Chipotle Peach Salsa, A very special salsa recipe for fresh peach season.
- Chipotle Black Bean Corn Salsa Easy using canned black beans, load up those corn chips with this tasty appetizer salsa.
- Essential Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa A salsa recipe that tastes just like you’d find at your favorite Mexican Restaurant.
- Big Batch Salsa for Canning Your tortilla chips will thank you when you have a stash of this fresh canned salsa to keep you warm all winter long.
And if you love Mexican Food as much as we do, take a look at my Mexican-Southwestern Category. You’ll find a ton of ideas for your next fiesta. Including the most popular recipe on my site for Hatch Green Chile with Pork.
Make your own zesty fresh Homemade Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. Your tortilla chips, tacos and burritos will thank you. Easy recipe loaded with flavor.
- 6 tomatillos peeled, halved and pan roasted
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 jalapeno pepper stemmed, seeded, cut in half
- 1/3 cup cilantro rough chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon Pickapeppa Sauce or Worcestershire
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 medium onion fine chopped
Remove the stem, seeds and veins from jalapeno pepper. Or leave the seeds and veins in for some good heat. Cut the jalapeno and half and with skin side up, with your hand flatten the pepper so it will roast in the fry pan.
Heat a 10 inch non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Lay in the garlic, jalapeno and the halved tomatillos. The tomatillos should be cut side down.
When the tomatillos are well browned (3-4 minutes) with tongs, turn everything over and brown the other side. The tomatillos should be soft.
Scrape the tomatillos, jalapeno and garlic into a food processor and let cool to room temperature.
Add the cilantro, sugar, vinegar, Pickapeppa and water. Blend to a coarse puree, easily spoonable consistency.
Pour into a salsa bowl and add the diced onion. Note, Once the onion has been diced, put it in a strainer and rinse under cold water. This will temper the onion flavor.
Add and season with a little salt and a little more sugar if you wish.
Pickapappa sauce is a great condiment to have in your pantry. Great for soups. A flavorful substitute for when any recipe calls for Worcestershire.
mjskitchen says
January 29, 2018 at 7:55 pmWe grew tomatillos this year for the first time and what a beautiful and delicate plant! The bees loved the blossoms! Made a few salsas from them, but never took the time to roast them. Pinning your recipe so I can give the roasted salsa a try. I just love the tangy sweet flavor of tomatillo salsa and boy, do we love salsa! 🙂
Lea Ann Brown says
February 1, 2018 at 5:53 amA friend of mine grew tomatillos a couple of years ago, I was so surprised at how well and prolific that plant was. Wonder if they’d grow in a big container like some tomatoes do?