Tasty? Yes. Slimy, too!!

this is tomatillo, my newest discovery. 

Isn't it weird looking?

They are also called Husk Tomatoes. They have a very tart flavor, nothing like the red tomato. It is related to the tomato, and if you can appreciate the differences, you are really on to something. 

The first difference is the husk. The second, well, is inside the husk and kinda....

weird.

Not kinda weird. Just plain weird. 

You see, there is a slimy film between the papery husk and the tomatillo. If you can get by this, you can get to Salsa Verde. If you can't, call me. That's how I got the tomatillos you see above. 

My friend and her husband didn't see past the slime, couldn't appreciate the tart beauty inside. 

The slime is easily washed off, once the husk is removed, so I don't see the big deal, but I have things I feel strongly about, so I will just have to take my free and wonderful tomatillos and suffer.

Tomatillos + serrano peppers = AWESOMENESS!!

I fooled around with lots of recipes, but this one is the best:

Tomatillo Salsa Verde
adapted from Allrecipes.com

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 serrano chile peppers, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Place tomatillos, onion, garlic, and chile pepper into a saucepan. Season with cilantro, oregano, cumin, and salt; pour in water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the tomatillos are soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Using a blender, carefully puree the tomatillos and water in batches until smooth.

I don't know if you see a theme here, lately, but I like simple recipes with as few steps as possible. I did try some salsa verde recipes that called for roasting tomatillos, but that took longer and was not as incredible as the recipe above. The original recipe called for 2 cups of water, but that made a very loose salsa. It also called for only 1 serrano, but you couldn't taste the spice at all! As listed above, this salsa packs a lot of flavor, but no discernible heat. honest.
The tomatillo plants were very easy to grow and if you can find them at the Farm Fixture Store in rural Midwest, you surely can find them anywhere....!