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Easy Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Recipe

From tea parties to dance parties, or just for sitting on the deck, this simple tomatillo salsa recipe is perfect!

tomatillo salsa recipe

Tomatillos are those cute little green tomatoes with the papery husk.

How to Make this Tomatillo Salsa Recipe

Peel off the husk and use the tomatillos just as you would use green tomatoes, though they are more acidic than tomatoes and their interiors are more dense.

Make sure to rinse the sticky residue off before using.

If they are big enough you can bread them and fry them and make the classic Southern dish, fried green tomatoes.

Tart and acidic they also make perfect salsa verde-the green Mexican salsa which is in contrast to the more traditional salsa fresca.

I love serving both as a contrast to each other.

Salsas can be made with roasted tomatillos or raw tomatillos.

The choice is up to you.

Roast them under the broiler until their flesh has charred in several places.

Or if it’s easier, place them on the grill.

And a sidenote this recipe can also be made into a smooth tomatillo sauce to use on chicken or fish, by using your immersion blender.

Add a little water to help it achieve the consistency you want.

In this case I just wanted a simple tomatillo salsa and this tomatillo recipe sufficed.

Need a few variations?

Feel free to add lime juice or a cubed avocado and you could even stir in a fresh or roasted chopped tomato.

Personally, I love adding a chipotle because it really brings out the smokiness of the charred tomatillos.

Yes, I know you can buy tomatillo salsa in the jar but this fresh tomatillo salsa recipe is so much better!

In need of other tomatillo recipes? This chicken stew is one of my favorites.

tomatillo salsa recipe

Below is the original post from 2012. Looks like my kids are coming up on a 10 year reunion!

I can’t believe it. I haven’t even told you about Alex’s graduation and I’m already heading back to Philly.

My daughter decided to accept a position there and she needs me to help her move in.

I’m not really good at lifting boxes but since I helped her take them to storage on Mother’s Day I guess the least I can do is help her move them out.

She doesn’t have a car yet so that makes things like moving into your first apartment a challenge.

 She lived on campus for four years so she truly needs everything to fill what looks like a very large dorm room to me.

But this one has a private bath and a small kitchen. And a loft to hold a  mattress (notice I’m not sure about using the word bed). But I’m looking forward to it-mostly because I will be with her.

But let’s back up a month or so. After a great week in Philly between graduations we headed up to Lewisburg.

Lewisburg is a great town surrounded by Amish farms and wide open spaces of green. It borders the Susquehanna River and reminds me remotely of where I grew up in Illinois.

susquehanna river
We stayed in a b and b because Lewisburg does not have many motels or hotels. 

We were lucky we didn’t have to stay in the dorm because the town’s lodging is not big enough to hold all the visitors.

I planned well in advance because I couldn’t quite see my parents in a dorm. Could you?

Saturday began with porch sitting at Alex’s house where we met his roommates and their families.

Family on Alex's porch

And we didn’t even stick to the porch.

And then the beers were opened and let’s just say that our weekend began and ended with beer.

It was fun and relaxing and hot. Very hot.

We went to several house parties and met all the people that I’ve been wanting to meet for four years.

It’s tough when you live so far from the college your kids attend.

There is still so much I missed doing. Like going to a football game or a basketball game or parent’s weekend.

We danced on a Saturday afternoon and that was fun.

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It was fun seeing how much others like your kid and it was nice to say thank you to all the parents that took him for various weekends, because we lived so far away.

It was fun meeting his friends and realizing that he had really good friends and that was special.

It was wonderful feeling that maybe HE/SHE really did learn something and that it was more than what was contained in a class.

It all was special and it wasn’t just the beer talking.

Alex and his roommate Colin grilled steaks and chicken for dinner.

Alex and Colin

Alex and Colin

We picked up potato and macaroni salad so we could have something besides just meat.

And we started with chips and salsa. Nothing fancy but it hit the spot.

More beers and  a bottle of wine and lots of good conversation with Colin’s mom.

Sunday began early with saving seats for the BIG ceremony.

It was HOT. And Long. But it had good speakers and the best part was- that he graduated. Yes!

Yes!

We had lunch in the cafeteria and dinner on the river.

We ate fried chicken and fried fish and sat at picnic tables and it was wonderful. I will miss it.

family at picnic table
I will miss tea parties and college campuses and dancing on a Saturday afternoon.

And I will miss winter break and spring break and hearing about  stupid professors and my daughter’s tennis matches and my son’s ski weekends.

And even though there will always be more to come, I will miss it.

I guess there is only one thing to do.

Yep. It is time to break out the beer and eat the entire bowl of tomatillo salsa and chips! 

 

tomatillo salsa

Need More Salsas?

Salsa Macha

salsa macha

Hominy Salsa

hominy salsa

Roasted Tomato Salsa

fire grilled salsa

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Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

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roasted tomatillo salsa

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Abbe Odenwalder
  • Total Time: 30 Minutes
  • Yield: 4 - 6 Servings 1x
  • Category: Appetizers
  • Cuisine: Mexican/American

Description

A great roasted tomatillo salsa that is perfect with chips or enchiladas!


Ingredients

Scale

20 Husked and Rinsed Fresh Tomatillos

1 peeled onion, sliced

4 unpeeled garlic cloves

1 chipotle in adobo Sauce

2 T cilantro

1 pinch each of sugar and salt

Tortilla Chips

Beer


Instructions

Broil tomatillos, onion and garlic until charred.

Peel garlic and puree tomatillos, onion and garlic with chipotle, cilantro and sugar and salt.


Notes

If you like your salsa with more tomato flavor feel free to add in some tomato sauce. This is also good with a cubed avocado mixed in. And some might like a pinch of cumin. If you have never used fresh tomatillos, now is the time. They taste like a tart green tomato!

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Abbe

Tuesday 3rd of July 2012

Thanks, Tania. It was a lot of fun and over much to fast. Though after 11 days we all were exhausted. And it is a very good salsa. Thanks for writing.

Tania @ A Perfect Pantry

Tuesday 3rd of July 2012

What a gorgeous salsa... and you and your family looked to have such a great time. Loved your photos - it's obvious everyone was having a lot of fun.

Abbe

Tuesday 3rd of July 2012

Yes, they were very lucky, but how they both ended up in PA, I'll never know! Though I must say that eventually I believe they will both be back here. Actually, my son just accepted a job in Vail so we'll see how it goes! I like Philly-very manageable. And good food!Thanks for all your kind thoughts.

Kitchen Riffs

Tuesday 3rd of July 2012

Both of your kids went to some nice schools. I was actually born in a Philly suburb, and lived there until I was 10 or 11. Nice place. It's overshadowed by NYC, but a good city - your daughter will enjoy working there. As I'm enjoying your recipe for tomatilla salsa! I make all sorts of salsas, but rarely tomatilla - weird, because it has such great flavor. BTW, congrats on your 50th post!

Abbe

Tuesday 3rd of July 2012

Thanks, Cindy. It means a lot.