My Everyday Salsa Verde

As I think anyone who visits Mexico (or even a Mexican restaurant) knows, salsa is very important to this cuisine.  In fact, my mother-in-law makes a very special salsa from chilies only grown in her hometown.  This salsa is legendary in the family, so much so, that my sister-in-law claims that that salsa was part of why she originally fell in love with my brother-in-law.  I am hoping that one day my mother-in-law will want to pass on the tradition to me, and when she does, I will make sure to share it with you.

Today, however, I want to teach you the simple, everyday grilled salsa that is so indispensable to my life here in Mexico.  I think it was the second recipe my mother-in-law ever taught me and it is a constant in our house.  Whenever we are getting low, I start planning when I can make the next batch.

The only problem with this salsa is that it was taught to me basically as a technique - I have few hard and fast rules for how much of the ingredients you are going to need.  So the following amounts are more or less correct.  More on that later... (see Notes at the bottom)

Roasted Salsa Verde
Makes about 1 cup
5 Medium Tomatillos (The ones in the pictures are very small)
1-2 Small Serrano Peppers
1 Garlic Clove
Salt (to taste)

Remove the hulls of the tomatillos and wash off their sticky coating.

Assemble your ingredients.  You will also need a blender and comal or skillet (cask iron works well.)

Heat up the comal or skillet and place the tomatillos and serrano pepper(s) on it to grill.

Carefully turn the vegetables over until they are spotted with charred-spots and the color of the tomatillos has turned from green to more of a yellowish color.

When most of the serrano pepper looks charred, remove it from the heat and set aside to cool.

When cool enough to touch, carefully peel off the skin and cut off the top of the pepper.

As the tomatillos soften and become more yellow, remove them to cool.

Place the pepper, garlic clove, and 2 or 3 small tomatillos into a blender.

Blend well.  You want to make sure the pepper is well chopped into the salsa.  Add the rest of the tomatillos and blend to your desired consistency.  Add a nice pinch of salt.  Taste the salsa and add more salt if needed.

Pour the salsa into a bowl for serving.

Here is a typical breakfast at our house - two eggs over easy with queso, salsa, and lightly salted avocados, all served with warmed tortillas.

This salsa is also my salsa of choice for Sopa de Pasta.

Notes:
It can be difficult to obtain your preferred level of spiciness.  You may want to grill extra serrano peppers and only add them in as needed.  Or if it is too hot, add in more grilled tomatillos.  Just keep in mind that the flavor of the salsa tends to mellow out after being put in the refrigerator overnight - so something that is perfect the day you make it, my be a bit dull the next day.


Also, if your salsa tastes very acidic, you may not have grilled the tomatillos enough - in this case you may want to put the salsa in a pot and simmer it a bit to cook it a little more.

~ Kim