Make Ahead

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

August 23, 2010
4.5
2 Ratings
  • Makes about 2 1/2 cups
Author Notes

My son's babysitter hailed from Guatemala and opened my eyes to Central American cooking. This salsa is fairly straightforward and can be used to cook with chicken or fish, or served as a dip with chips. - CottageGourmet —CottageGourmet

Test Kitchen Notes

Pan-roasting the tomatillos, scallions, garlic and chiles allows a great, complex charred flavor to develop. If your tomatillos are large, you may need to leave them in the pan a little longer than the other ingredients. - Stephanie —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pound tomatillos
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 chile arbol (dried)
  • 3 green onions, including part of stem (about 6" altogether)
  • 1 handful cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
  1. Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos. Peel the garlic, leaving the cloves whole. Cut the root ends from the scallions.
  2. In a non-stick skillet without oil roast the tomatillos along with the chiles, garlic and scallions until the tomatillos are slightly blackened and well-cooked.
  3. Put all the vegetables into a blender and add the cilantro, vinegar, oregano and salt. Blend till smooth.
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • JocelynT
    JocelynT
  • Pat E. in SLO
    Pat E. in SLO
  • boulangere
    boulangere
  • CottageGourmet
    CottageGourmet
  • TheWimpyVegetarian
    TheWimpyVegetarian

14 Reviews

JocelynT September 10, 2019
This salsa is SO GOOD and SO SIMPLE! I added the green onions later so they wouldn't burn while the tomatillos cooked. I also had some anaheim peppers so I subbed those in for the chile arbol.
 
Terry P. January 13, 2019
Next time, I must keep the tomatillos cut-side up LONGER -
Once laid over, they began weeping juice, & the bronzing stopped. // Nonetheless, a wonderful sauce resulted, very savory - I used a good chili powder [not whole dried chilis], & it is rich, mild, & subtly warming. Yum!
 
pghcooks February 1, 2021
You should not cut them - keep them whole and just flip them around until they are brown on most surfaces. You're correct - cutting will cause the juices to evaporate.
 
Pat E. September 15, 2013
Delicious and easy! With homemade tortilla chips it was quite a hit both before dinner and later over hatch chili rellenos during dinner. This is on the keeper list....but how do you do this without trashing your non-stick skillet? I'm still scrubbing mine.
 
CottageGourmet September 15, 2013
You could make this in the oven instead, on a parchment-lined jellyroll pan. I'd imagine 425º for a good 35-45 minutes should do it, with convection if you have it. I hope you get your pan clean!
 
putaneggonit July 24, 2013
Delicious! This is the first time I've cooked with tomatillos (I was unnecessarily a little intimidated), and what a perfect first recipe. Simple, impressive, delicious - I'm obsessed! Thank you!
 
CottageGourmet July 25, 2013
Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it! We enjoy it all summer long, as a dip or slathered on stuff from the grill. Bon appetite!
 
CottageGourmet July 25, 2013
Darn that auto correct. Bon APPETIT.
 
boulangere April 30, 2011
This is the newest most heavenly combination ever. Seriously, words fail me. This is nothing short of amazing. I made it Thursday, every last drop was scooped up, and I believe I'm experiencing withdrawal.
 
CottageGourmet May 1, 2011
Wow, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
 
CottageGourmet September 12, 2010
@cakeeatercooks: Thank you! Glad you like it! Your happiness is what's making Maria (pictured) smile. I've used fresh jalapenos too, or left the peppers out entirely if I didn't have any on hand, and used red chili flakes. No matter what -- this salsa's a winner!
 
cakeeatercooks September 12, 2010
Just finished making this and it is amazing! I'm dipping tortilla chips straight into the warm blender and can't stop! Got to get it into the fridge to chill, so there's still some left for our guests tonight! Very easy to make and fairly certain I won't buy a pre-made tomatillo salsa again.
 
cakeeatercooks September 12, 2010
Forgot to mention that I used two small fresh jalepenos instead of the arbol and roasted them along with everything else.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian September 2, 2010
YUM!!! Definitely making this one!