Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

There is a funny thing about spending your time and energy preserving food, you tend to not have enough to time to eat well at the same time!  I have been eating a lot of "pick-up meals", which is what we called meals made up of a bunch of miscellaneous finger food when I was growing up.  These meals oftentimes consist of cut up veggies and fruit and some variation of cheese and crackers.  While well and good in its own right, it doesn't feel like it is doing the bounty of the season justice to be consuming each item raw and separately every day.  Over the past (long!) weekend, I attempted to switch the preserving/cooking ratio to a better balance.  At the same time, our purple tomatillo plants let go of a 1/2 pound of ripe tomatillos.

A half pound is not enough to preserve, but it is certainly enough to make a small batch of tomatillo salsa for now!  And, by now, I mean that we ate the whole batch the day I made it.  Delicious!

The variety we are growing is purple, which yields a stunning purple green combo with a charming heart-shaped interior. This small batch recipe comes together quickly and easily.  The little bit of heat comes from the raw garlic, which is a heat I enjoy in salsa much more so than a pepper-based heat.

I gave Paul a taste to ask his opinion on the saltiness as I was finishing this batch.  He followed me back to the kitchen shortly after and found me taking this photo.  He patiently waited for me to take the shot before asking, "Can I eat that?".  With that kind of reaction, I figured this is a recipe I better record for future use!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
This salsa is fabulous with tortilla chips.  Warming it with black beans and adding it to a burrito is also highly recommended.
yields 1 to 1-1/2 cups and is easily sized up for a bigger batch

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound tomatillos (purple or green)
• 1 banana pepper, cored and seeded
• 1/4 of a medium onion
• 1 clove garlic
• handful of cilantro leaves (approx. 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• salt

Directions:

1. Cut the tomatillos in half and lay them cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet.
2. Broil until the skin starts to darken and the tomatillos are soft (about 5-7 minutes)
3. Place tomatillos along with all the ingredients (except the salt) in a food processor.
4. Process on low until all ingredients are chopped.
5. Add salt to taste.