Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Recipe

The tomatillos are coming in nicely and, even after giving away a couple or three pounds, we had 8.5 pounds on hand.  Tomatillos keep well but still have to be used eventually.  Thus, we have 3 quarts of roasted tomatillo salsa cooling in the pressure canner (along with 2 quarts of diced Viva Italia paste tomatoes!) and 2 pints in the refrigerator for immediate use!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
makes about 4 quarts

• 8.5 pounds tomatillos, roasted
• 4 medium onions, peeled and cut into eighths
• 2 bulbs (not cloves) garlic, peeled
• 2 cups cilantro leaves, packed
• 9 red, green &/or purple jalapenos, de-stemmed and cut in half*
• 1 NuMex Big Jim pepper (Anaheim type), de-stemmed and cut in half*
• 1 poblano pepper, de-stemmed and cut in half*
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (3 limes)
• 1 tsp salt

First, roast tomatillos:  

Tomatillos, roasted and waiting to be salsa

Remove the husks and rinse the tomatillos several times to remove the sticky coating.  Roast on a hot gas grill (for stovetop or oven instructions, do an internet search), turning frequently.  Because they get a little mushy, I used a grilling basket that has a top so they could just be flipped over in the basket.  This worked better than on the grill grate itself, although I did use tongs to take off the precocious ones and move the slower ones around to brown them evenly.  Put them in a large container as they come off the grill.  You will end up with mushy, icky-colored fruit with charred spots, but that is good!    If you like, you can peel off some of the worst charred spots, but wait until they're cool.

Next, make salsa:

Red, green, and purple jalapenos

1. In a large pot, combine tomatillos (with their icky-looking serum), onions and garlic.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 or so minutes.
2. Working in batches (3), put some of the peppers, cilantro, lime juice and hot mixture in a blender.  Blend until smooth but flecks of char, cilantro and colored pepper bits remain.  Dump into another large pot.  Repeat until all is blended.
3. Stir to mix your new pot of salsa and heat to boiling.  
4. Decide how you want to save all this salsa and package it up.  (Freezing is easy and good.)

*Adjust the number of peppers to your taste and the heat of your peppers.  Using more than one variety adds a little more balance to the salsa.

This is not a USDA- or extension service-approved recipe for canning!!!  I did can it in a pressure canner, despite the warnings that the "food quality will be unacceptable".  I figure this is a pureed food so it won't get mushier.  And besides, the stuff from last year was tasty.  Can at your own risk.  That said, it does freeze very nicely.