Tomatillo Tuesday

Do not fear the tomatillo. It is not scary. It is the most fantastic ingredient when procured fresh and in abundance.

Who doesn't love green sauce? I know I do! Ever more so than red sauce. Perhaps because i have yet to master it but I find salsa verde to have far more complexity with a rare need for adjustment.

I've been toying around with this recipe for a few years now and have finally found a sweet spot. Enchiladas are a little labor intensive for how much I make at a time so this comes together in a casserole style. Don't let me stop you from rolling this up or dousing anything honestly!

Salsa Verde

2 pounds of Tomatillos
1/2 Large onion, quartered
6 larger cloves garlic
2 large Anaheim chile peppers
one bunch cilantro
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbs sofrito (if you have it)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp pepper
salt to taste
lime juice to taste

Start with a cast iron pan on medium high heat. blister your garlic onion and chile peppers. Mine didn't fit in the pan so you can cut them up but not too small. You're not sweating them you are getting roasty flavor.

While those are working, blend up cilantro with the chicken stock, stems and all.

Once those ingredients are well roasted, blend them in the mixture as well.

Tomatillos are next in the pan. Turn the pan to medium low. The residual heat in your cast iron can easily burn the tomatillos and you want them to get relatively soft depending on the size.

I've tried roasting everything in the oven but for me its not as effective because the tomatillos liquify and steam everything.

Here's where you would simmer the sofrito if you have it. The only thing that sofrito has that you're not already using is salt pork. Which is a great base if you love pork like I do but not completely necessary.
I store it in an ice cube tray so that I can have it on hand. Once I run out there will be a recipe...sorry

Tomatillos go in the blender as well. Now that everything it well blended. simmer your sauce for 30 minutes stirring and tasting as needed. I added the cumin and pepper at the beginning of the simmer and salt/lime at the end. Remember kids tomatillos really aren't good until they are well cooked so don't be afraid to add more stock and simmer longer than the half hour.

I'm addicted to zucchini and kale at the moment and couldn't resist adding them to my casserole. Much like a low-carb lasagna I use the zucchini as a layering supplement. Before it goes in I season very well with salt and sear off.

Since its a casserole I'm not as fussy with actually layering all the ingredients. That has never worked out too well for me anyways. This time I finished my sauce and froze 2/3 of it for another day and added some ground pork to the remainder. Cooled it down with a very healthy amount of frozen corn and kale chiffonade. After I was sure it was cool enough I added some cheese. Boom! Layer that up with tortillas and zucchini and pop it in the oven at 425 for about 30 minutes.

Super easy and super delicious!