In the Pantry: Tomatillos

I bet you're wondering what is a tomatillo? A tomatillo is a Mexican fruit that I like to think of as a Mexican tomato, but in reality it is a cousin to the gooseberry. I saw these lovely fruits at the farmers market and decided I had to try them out. They come in a green husk that covers their smooth green skin.

Now you might be wondering, okay so I now know what a tomatillo is, but what they heck do you do with one? I'll tell you: make Salsa Verde

Step one:

Boil the tomatillo until soft.

Step two:

Blend the tomatillos in a food processor, add fresh garlic cloves, green chiles, half onion, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt.

Step three: Enjoy 

But, since I do not really like eating chips I added my salsa verde to soups.

The first week I made Caldo con Queso - a cheesey tomato potato Mexican soup. The salsa verde is used to add some extra spice.

Recipe: 

cubed potatoes (about 5 - leave the skins on if red potatoes)

olive oil 

[in large pot heat oil and add potatoes, cook until tender]

1 14 oz can of tomato sauce

[add to potatoes, then add same amount of water]

[simmer]

4 oz salsa verde

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 cup Mexican blended cheese

[stir into the soup, serve with sour cream and avocado]

The second week I made up a spicy, yummy soup. Here's what I did:

almost 1/4 cup dried black beans

almost 1/4 cup dried pinto beans

almost 1/4 cup brown rice

~5 cups water

[heat until boiled, then place lid on and simmer]

[once the beans and rice were cooked]

[add] 2 cups salsa verde

4 chicken tenderloins

sea salt

pepper

cayenne 

[all spices to taste]

[once chicken is cooked through, cut into pieces]

serve hot with cheese and sour cream

I tell you what I love creating recipes. If you've never done it you should try it. And, if you have done it you should share what creations you've made! Maybe we can recreate them too! If you ever try making one of my recipes let me know! I would love to hear about how it worked out for you!

This was In the Pantry: Tomatillos. Please stay tuned for more fun with items in your pantry :)