Salsa verde is a staple in Mexico and everyone has their variations. Some versions are all raw, some are cooked, and still others are roasted or a combination of raw and cooked. This version lightly roasts most of the ingredients other than the onion, cilantro, and the Chain Reaction®, but feel free to experiment with the cooking or not cooking to tune this to your family's tastes.
The serrano chiles are relatively mild when roasted, adjust the overall heat of the salsa to your tastes by adding or removing serranos. Cilantro leaves have a relatively strong flavor. This recipe uses 1/3 cup of tightly packed leaves only. The taste this lends in a final sauce is about a mid-point for the flavor, meaning you can taste it, but for us, it's not overpowering. This is the second variable you can adjust to your personal tastes. Garlic is the third adjustment. Roasting the garlic first mellows the flavors. If anything we would suggest starting where the recipe suggests and if you want more garlic flavor try adding a clove or two of raw garlic to add more garlic punch to the final salsa. Finally, the onion is the only major ingredient that isn't roasted in this recipe. While we do roast onion for several other salsas, this one leaves it raw to provide a little pungency and balance the caramelized flavors of the roasted garlic, chiles, and tomatillos. Roasting the onions yields a large change in the flavor profile of this salsa. Again, try it and see what your family likes best. There is no one correct answer for a good salsa verde.
As always, from our table to yours... #SpiceConfidently #EssenceOfFlavor #ChemistryInTheKitchen #CasaMSpice
— Mike Hernandez
ingredients
For the Salsa:
- 2 serrano chiles (or more to taste)
- 1/2 sweet onion (medium sized), roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup cilantro leaves, firmly packed
- 2 pound small tomatillos, husks removed, washed well
- 1 Tablespoon Casa M Spice Co® Chain Reaction®
FEATURED QUOTE
The serrano chiles are relatively mild when roasted, adjust the overall heat of the sauce to your tastes by adding or removing serranos.
- Mike HernandezLET’S GET COOKING
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1.
Roast the chiles and garlic in a large skillet on the stovetop over high heat. Preheat the skillet to high heat and add the chiles and garlic. The goal is to keep them moving around and char the outside of both, then remove them and add them to the container of a blender along with the roughly chopped onion and blend to purée these three ingredients together.
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2.
To the same skillet, add the tomatillos and roast them too moving them around and trying to get a little char on the outside of them. Don't overcrowd the skillet as you're roasting so you have room to move the tomatillos around.
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3.
When the tomatillos are a little charred on the outside, add them to a pot (that has a lid) and add a little bit of water (just enough to have about 1/4" of water on the bottom). Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. put the lid on the pot, and remove the pot from the burner. Allow the tomatillos to cool for 10 minutes in the pot with the lid on.
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4.
Add the tomatillos (including the liquid), Chain Reaction®, and cilantro to the blender container.
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5.
Pulse the blender while watching the consistency. It should be well mixed, but not so much that there aren't still visible specks of cilantro and intact seeds from the tomatillos.
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6.
Taste the salsa and adjust seasonings with Chain Reaction®.
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7.
Store the salsa in an airtight container. While it's best within a few days of making it, it will last up to a week in the refrigerator.
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