We were out of salsa verde--and I had tomatillos piling up--so I made some. I love salsa verde, but I was really craving tomato salsa, so I made some of that too. Since I had fresh picked pablano peppers and no immediate plans to make chile rellenos, I came up with a whole new salsa verde recipe. Salsa is always better with some tortillas, so I made some of those, too. If I could just grow my own avocados and make my own corn tortilla chips, I'd really have it made.
Tomatillo blossoms are a beautiful addition to the garden.
Fresh Tomato Salsa
2 Cups coarsely cut tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 jalapenos, stemmed and coarsely chopped (remove seeds for milder salsa)
1/2 Cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. dried cilantro (or 1/2 Cup fresh, chopped)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. turmeric
Put all ingredients into blender and pulse until finely chopped and thoroughly mixed. Good served right out of the blender, but better refrigerated overnight.
Salsa Verde #2
1 1/2 lbs. tomatillos, husked and washed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 pablano peppers
2 jalapeno peppers, stems removed, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. dried cilantro (or 1/2 Cup fresh, chopped)
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
Use one Tbsp. olive oil to grease a cookie sheet. Move oven rack to about 4 inches below top element (or burner). Preheat on broiler high setting.
Place tomatillos and pablanos on cookie sheet. Broil until tops of the tomatillos begin to turn brown and pablano skins begin to bubble and char (about 5 mins.). Use tongs to turn and broil on other side. When second side is ready, put peppers into a bowl and cover. Leave for 15 mins. to steam in order to further loosen the skins. Peel off the pablano skins. Any skin that sticks can be scraped loose with a paring knife. Remove the stem ends and most of the seeds.
Put about half of the tomatillos into a blender and pulse until they are chopped. Add the rest of the tomatillos and other ingredients, including the 1 Tbsp. remaining olive oil and pulse until finely minced and thoroughly mixed.
Tastes good right out of the blender, but gets better when refrigerated overnight.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
1 Cup whole wheat flour
1 Cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup plus 1 Tbsp. warm water (omit the extra Tbsp. if using only all-purpose flour)
3 Tbsp. peanut oil
Put the flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the top of the flour. Pour the salt and oil into the well. Begin mixing and stir in the water a little at a time. Continue to mix until a smooth dough is formed and begins to pull away from sides of bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead for a minute or two and form into a ball. Cover for a damp towel and let rest for 15 mins.
Cut ball into 8 roughly equal parts and form into balls.
Preheat a cast iron or non-stick skillet on medium. Using a rolling pin, roll balls into thin circles roughly 8-10 inches in diameter. Place tortilla into hot skillet and cook until it begins to puff up and bubble. Turn over and cook second side. Torillas should have lightly browned spots. Repeat with each tortilla. Stack tortillas on a plate and cover until ready to serve.
Stephen
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