I don’t know what it is about summer, but all I want to cook these days is food with spicy, Latin American flavors. Perhaps I just want to embrace the sweltering heat and fire up my body’s natural cooling system–a.k.a. get my sweat on. As a result, I’ve become mildly obsessed with trying out different gazpacho and salsa recipes. And with farmers markets in full flourish the available ingredients are bountiful, fresh and packed with flavor.
Most recently I taste tangoed with a curious little fruit and member of the tomato family: the tomatillo (or “little tomato” in Spanish). To me, tomatillos look like miniature paper lanterns. They have this thin, veiny husk and it’s like unwrapping a present when you reveal the brilliant lime-colored gem underneath.
Beyond their aesthetic appeal, they are incredibly good for you. Packed with fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamins C and K, and antioxidants, these low-calorie beauties will help keep your body fit as a fiddle from the inside out.
Without further ado, the recipe….
What You’ll Need:
- 10 medium tomatillos
- 1/4 sliced sweet onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeño
- 1/2 poblano pepper
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
How to Make It:
- Pre-heat oven to 450F
- Place tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeño and poblano on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Dust with salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat.
- Bake at 450F for 15 min or until skin on tomatillos and peppers start to caramelize and bubble.
- Let cool then seed your jalapeño and poblano (unless you want it suuuuper spicy). Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor with one cup of fresh cilantro. Process until smooth.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 min then serve.
This is delish on homemade fish tacos or drizzled over a piece of grilled flank steak. It can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months.