Recipe: Roasted Salsa Verde

Tomatillos are sometimes referred to as green tomatoes, particularly in Mexico, but they are not actually tomatoes. They are from the nightshade family, which includes potatoes, eggplants and, yes, tomatoes. They grow with a paper-like husk around them that begins to split open as the fruits matures. I love the sour and sweet taste of a fresh tomatillo and think roasting enhances the flavors even more.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 tomatillos
• 1 medium onion
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 poblano peppers
• 2 jalapeno peppers (less or more depending on your comfort level)
• Juice from the quarter of a lime
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• salt
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• vegetable oil for grilling/roasting

Directions:

Remove discard the paper-like husk from the tomatillos. Cut the poblano and jalapeno peppers in half and discard the seeds, veins, and stems. Slice the onion into 3-4 disks or sections.

Preheat the grill and grill basket or grill sheet. Spread a little oil over the grill basket or sheet. Place the tomatillos, tomato, peppers and onions on the grill and grill until the tomato and tomatillos are soft and the peppers and onions are charred.

Remove from the grill and let the tomatillos, tomato, peppers and onions cool in a bowl for 10 minutes. Drain excess liquid from the bottom of the bowl. Core & skin the tomato and remove the charred skins from the poblano peppers (the skins of the peppers can be a little bitter, but it's minor so this is an optional step).

Place the grilled vegetables and fruits into a food processor along with the lime juice, garlic and salt. Process until the peppers are in small chunks. Place in a bowl and stir in the cilantro.

Chill before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips. Here is how to make your own tortilla chips from corn tortillas.

This recipe was written by Anne Savage and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Oct. 4, 2011.