Tomatillo Salsa

By the time I am finished with these 3 boxes of tomatillos I am going to be a salsa verde expert.  Two recipes down a few more to go and lots of tomatillos to husk.

This recipe comes from the Bernardin Big Book.  I’m not really sure whether or not I like this one…I’m on the fence.  Apparently, the salsa flavors will mellow and mix together over time and it is recommended that you wait 3-4 weeks before cracking the seal.  Right now, the vinegar flavour seems to over power the tomatillos…maybe, it’s because I used a few mild banana peppers instead of all the jalapeno peppers and I also mixed in a small red pepper.  I don’t like extremely HOT foods so I chose to reduce the  jalapeno pepper quantity.  I think the consistency is a little more like a sauce than a salsa but my experience with using tomatillos is limited (at this point).

RECIPE FOR TOMATILLO SALSA:

• 5 1/2 cups chopped cored husked tomatillos
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped seeded green chili peppers (jalapeno and long green chili peppers work well but you can substitute milder poblano or Anaheim peppers)
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes

1. In a large stainless steel saucepan combine all the ingredients.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.
2. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace.  Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot salsa.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
3. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water.  bring to a boil and process both 250mL and 500mL jars for 15 minutes.  Remove canner lid.  Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool, label and store.

Put up Total:

• 8 x 250mL regular mason jars