Tomatillo Salsa Verde

This isn’t a ferment recipe per se, although you can absolutely ferment it sitting in a sealed container on the shelf for a day or two or more for some added effervescence and depth of flavor.

If you choose the fermented route, I’d suggest adding an additional 1/2 to 1 tsp salt to the recipe below. 1/2 tsp for a 24 hour ferment, and 1 tsp for 48+ hours. Some people feel the sweet spot is in 4-6 days; I like it but think the cilantro maintains its flavor better with a shorter ferment.

I love making this salsa from scratch. You can change up the ingredients. I recently had garlic scapes to put in from my garden. For this batch, it was purple onion instead of the usual white or yellow and it was fantastic. If I don’t have onion, onion powder to the rescue. Sometimes I add both fresh garlic and garlic powder. What I provided below is just a template to work from.

Although you can use canned tomatillos to make a pretty good sauce (I’d definitely take it on tacos, tortilla chips, and such rather than none at all), there’s just no competition with fresh tomatillos.

I measured out a sauce I made just to give this base recipe. If you want to add more or less of a particular ingredient, or add other spices like Mexican oregano, you certainly can. Some folks have an aversion to cilantro and if so you could exclude it from this recipe. Sticking strictly to this recipe will give you something very delicious so it’s all good.

This recipe will serve about 8 people as a chip n dip appetizer.

You will need:

• Blender or food processor
• Measuring spoons
• Knife & cutting board
• Serving and/or storage bowl

Ingredients:

• 1.25 – 1.5 lbs. fresh tomatillos, quartered
• 1 green tomato (optional but adds some depth of flavor), quartered
• 1/4 – 1/2 onion, any variety (~75g), rough chopped
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 bunch cilantro (~20-25g), rough chopped
• 5-6 garlic cloves (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
• Juice of 2-3 limes (you’ll get more juice from a decent press)
• 1 tsp salt (add an additional 1/2 to 1 tsp more salt if fermenting, as discussed above). Fermenting always requires non-iodized salt.
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Optional: for a spicy salsa, add 1-2 jalapenos (more or less depending on taste), 1/2″ slices

Directions:

1.) Thoroughly wash all the produce

2.) Cut and prepare produce as stated above

3.) Combine all ingredients in the blender or processor

4.) Blend on medium, pulsing a few times, until just barely smooth

5.) Ready to eat immediately, but stored overnight in the fridge helps thicken the consistency and develop the flavor.

Alternately, you may lacto-ferment this sauce by storing it in a sealed quart mason jar for 24-48 hours at room temperature.

Notes: If fermenting longer than a day or so, I recommend adding the cilantro after (or at both stages), when you’re ready to eat the salsa. It tends to lose it’s distinct flavor more quickly in a ferment. Also, you may opt to add the lime juice after the ferment. Added acids can alter the normal progression of fermentation; while normally some added acids are fine, there is a considerable amount of lime juice in this recipe so it’s best to add it when serving.