Sauces · Mexican
Salsa Verde
Tangy tomatillos, a little chile, a lot of cilantro: the green salsa for chips and tacos.
- Hands-on
- 10 min
- Hands-off
- 15 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Makes
- 2.2 cups (about 530 ml)
- Serves
- 9
Hands-on time is husking, chopping and pulsing. Passive time is 8-10 minutes of boiling plus 5 minutes in ice water. Add a few minutes for the big pot of water to come to the boil.
- easy
- vegan
- vegetarian
- gluten-free
- dairy-free
- dip
- taco-night
- make-ahead
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Doubles easily, but pulse in two batches so the processor doesn't purée it to liquid. Chile heat varies from pepper to pepper, so add the reserved seeds by taste, not by the amount scaled. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: large saucepan · medium bowl of ice water · slotted spoon or colander · food processor · cutting board and knife · disposable kitchen gloves for the chile
Contains: none of the 9 major allergens in the listed ingredients
Method
Get ready
Pull the papery husks off the 450 g (1 lb) of tomatillos and wash them well. Put on gloves, cut the jalapeño open, scrape out the seeds and ribs, mince the seeds and set them aside, then mince the chile. Coarsely chop the half onion and mince the garlic clove.
Otto tried this firstOtto chops the jalapeño bare-handed and then rubs his eye. Gloves on for the chile, and hands off your face until they're off and your hands are washed.Bring the water to a boil
Bring the 1.9 litres (2 quarts) of water to a boil in a large saucepan. While it heats, fill a medium bowl with ice water.
Ready when: Big bubbles break all over the surface: a full, rolling boil.
Boil the tomatillos
Stir 2 tsp of the salt into the boiling water, then lower in the tomatillos. Cook them for 8 to 10 minutes.
Ready when: The color has dulled slightly, from bright green toward olive, and a knife slides in easily, but the tomatillos still hold their round shape and haven't split into mush.
Cool in ice water
Drain the tomatillos (or lift them out with a slotted spoon) and drop them into the ice water. Leave them for about 5 minutes.
Pulse
Drain the tomatillos; no need to dry them. Put them in the food processor with the chopped onion, minced garlic, minced jalapeño (without its seeds), the 120 ml (1/2 cup) packed cilantro, the 1 tbsp lime juice and the other 1/2 tsp salt. Pulse about 7 times, just until everything is roughly chopped.
Otto tried this firstOtto holds the button down and makes green soup. Short pulses keep the salsa chunky.Taste and adjust
Taste. Stir in some or all of the reserved jalapeño seeds if you want it spicier, and add salt to taste. Serve.
Swaps
- Instead of fresh tomatillos (450 g / 1 lb): two 13-oz (370 g) cans of tomatillos, drained Canned tomatillos are already soft: skip the boiling and ice-water steps and go straight to pulsing.
- Instead of jalapeño: serrano chiles, about 2 in place of 1 jalapeño Serranos are usually hotter. Start with one and add more to taste.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Make it up to 4 days ahead. Before serving, let it come back to room temperature and taste again: it usually wants a pinch more salt and a squeeze of lime.
- Storage
- Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If something goes wrong
- Not spicy enough, or too spicy Why: Chile heat varies a lot, even between peppers of the same kind.
That's why the seeds are kept aside: stir them in a little at a time until it tastes right. If it's already too hot, make a second batch without chile and mix the two.
Good to know
- Pick tomatillos with dry husks and firm, bright green fruit that smells fresh and fruity.
- Serve it with tortilla chips, tacos, tamales, eggs, or grilled meat and fish.
Safety
- Chile juice burns skin and eyes. Wear gloves to cut the jalapeño, and don't touch your face or eyes until you've taken them off and washed your hands.
- A big pot of boiling water is heavy and scalds. An adult should drain it, pouring away from the body; kids can husk the tomatillos and pick cilantro leaves.
- The tomatillos go into the processor cold, so there's no hot liquid in the machine. Keep fingers away from the blade when you scrape the bowl.