Two summers ago we had the best bumper crop of tomatillos ever. They were popping up all over my yard….I had so many I would just toss them to the chickens left or right. You never saw 2 chickens run so fast in all your life! I feel just as passionate about tomatillos as they do however this summer to save my life I could not get one to come out of the ground. Well luckily for me my friend Katherine was extremely generous with her tomatillos and I have a good supply of Salsa Verde in the freezer. Nothing like chicken and cheese burritos smothered in Salsa Verde. I also like tomatillos just broiled with olive oil and salt and pepper on them…..although I realize they are not for everyone! They are truly a favorite of mine. Well I finally realized the magic formula for my tomatillos and what was missing and that was my chickens no longer free range and eat everything in my garden and then of course generously compost my garden which explained my super fabulous bumper crop of tomatillos. It wasn’t magic after all and I didn’t just get lucky! Now my chickens share a run and we usually let them out in the late afternoon supervised to explore the garden in this way we can protect our cabbages and tomatoes…..chickens are ruthless in the garden with your fresh produce and I can steer them towards the weeds and other things I don’t mind them eating. So Katherine saved the day and I am going to have to let my chickens eat some tomatillos in my yard before it gets cold and maybe some will spring up somewhere next summer. I have a very simple way to make my Salsa Verde and I would like to share it with you. I take the skins off all of the tomatillos and wash them. Then I turn my crock pot on usually on high and pour all the tomatillos into my crock pot with a little cumin, salt and pepper. Then after about two hours or so you drain out all of the water and run the tomatillos with some fresh garlic, red pepper, maybe a couple of cherry tomatoes, and olive oil with the food processor and it comes out with a nice smokey flavor. I purchase some of those quart freezer size containers and pour it right in there and freeze until ready to use. Make sure to mark what is in the container and the date with a permanent marker and then when I know I am going to have Salsa Verde for dinner I put it in the fridge to thaw in the morning.
I hope you try my recipe sometime and let me know how you like it!
This Blog is Part of The Fat Tuesday Blog @ Real Food Forager
Wow, what a plentiful crop of tomatillos. Thanks for the recipe for Salsa Verde. My husband and I just love this sauce (we usually buy it) but would love to try to make it. I also do a monthly menu calendar. How nice to have a site from which I can get some good menu ideas.
Gen I hope you like the recipe! I really try to keep things simple. Please let me k now if you make it and since you do a monthly calendar as well I will have to check out your blog!
Tomatoes didn’t make it, but the tomatillos did. A bit worse for wear, but the bees were out working them again this morning. I’m convinced they are indestructible. Gotta work out a new plan for the tomatoes in a storm though. Most of it was my own fault for not securing them better.
So sorry about your tomatoes Katherine. Hurricane Irene did not go easy on gardens. I had a bird house gourd that was flung off its little concrete block and my Hibiscus and Lantana were flat on the ground. I agree our Bees are all over the yard today sipping up water from the storm. Thanks again for the tomatillos they were wonderful!
Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. Hope to see you next week!
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/09/fat-tuesday-september-13-2011/
Thanks Jill! I just found your site today! I had to got to our local garden meeting but I will be putting a linky back to your site. And thanks so much for stopping by!