Salsa verde! Picante! - Green Salsa! Hot!

Good day everybody! I thought it was about time for me to share another recipe! So, here I am! Sharing a very easy recipe to make a delicious (and authentic) Salsa Verde! This salsa is made with Green Tomatillos which are a staple in Mexican cuisine! You can find them pretty much in any Supermarket, they might look a little weird to you if you have never bought them before, they are usually covered by a very very thin yellow/brown/grayish layer of skin (it can be easily removed, it's almost like a layer of thin paper) so don't worry about that layer, it doesn't mean they are "bad" it just means that you discard that skin and use the tomatillo inside. The flavor of tomatillos is very distinct so you can't just use any kind of "tomato" as a substitute, if the recipe calls for tomatillos you have to use them. They are not expensive and they are really good.

Mexican Green Tomatillos

Salsa verde Mexicana
(Makes about 2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 5 or 6 Tomatillos verdes (green tomatillos) (it depends on their size if they are too little you need more, this is already a small kind of 'tomato', about the size of a roma tomato -just rounder-)
• 3 chiles serranos (serrano peppers) -stems removed-
• 1 clove of garlic
• salt to taste (I use 1 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 tbsp. chopped cilantro (fresh... you cannot use dry cilantro at all in this recipe, if you can't get or don't have cilantro is better to just not use anything else instead your salsa will still be good, cilantro just takes it to a whole new level of flavor!)

Directions:
- Place the tomatillos and peppers with about 2 quarts of water in a saucepan over medium heat until they boil and the tomatillos/chiles cook until the tomatillos change color and seem to start to peel (about 15 mins). Remove from the heat.

 

 - In a blender add the cooked tomatillos,peppers (without any additional liquid where they were cooked, the tomatillos absorbed liquid anyway while cooking and that will be enough for the salsa), garlic and salt and blend until they are completely mixed and the salsa looks like this:

- Then add your chopped cilantro and blend for about 5 seconds just so it incorporates to the salsa and transfer to a container where it can be stored. Let it cool until it's room temperature and enjoy! It might "smell" like it is a very hot/spicy salsa but once it's completely cooled down you will be able to taste it and see that it is not that hot at all! You can store it in the refrigerator up to 5 days! Trust me! If you have tortilla chips or "Tostitos" this salsa will not see a second day!

I hope you like it! Remember... if you try this recipe and enjoy it... please leave a comment, a cook is always encouraged to keep cooking by the praises to her/his food!

Paloma.

Linguine in tomato/chipotle sauce

You can probably see a pattern here... yes... I had a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and I didn't want to either leave them too long in the fridge or have them go to waste... Since you don't really use many of these awesome tasting peppers in recipes a small can of them can go a very long way... (Actually I still have more than 1/2 of them)

So.. I'll post the recipe for the pasta today, I accompanied the pasta with breaded chicken strips and also with fried garlic/butter zucchini, I'll post the recipe for the zucchini on Monday and the chicken strips were so easy to make that I am sure you already have your very own recipe, I don't think I'll share that because it's just plain chicken breast strips in a breading of flour/breadcrumbs seasoned with salt and black pepper.

Ok.. let's not make the story longer than it is and go right into the recipe:


Linguine in Tomato/Chipotle Sauce:
Serves 4
1/2 lb. of linguine pasta
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup of water
1/2 white onion (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 cube of chicken bouillion
2 chipotle peppers (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce) - chopped -
grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions of the package (al-dente)
- While the pasta cooks pour the 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a pot (big enough to make the sauce and to add the pasta there at the end.)
- Sautee the Onions, season with salt and pepper.
- When the onions are translucent add the garlic and sautee for 30 more seconds
- Pour the tomato sauce, add chicken bouillion and water bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and let it simmer for 10 mins (stirring occasionally)
- Add the chipotle peppers, stir and let it simmer for extra 5  minutes and add the cooked pasta, making sure all the noodles are covered by the sauce.
- Serve and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top if desired.

Buen provecho!

Paloma.