From Scratch: Salsa Verde

From Scratch: I'm going to start a new series on the blog! Ever since I got married and had my own kitchen to cook in, I've been interested in making things from scratch, that I would ordinarily buy. Don't get me wrong, I didn't grow up in an overly processed foods family, in fact, my Mom would refuse to buy certain things I begged for at the grocery store on Saturdays, saying oh I can make that for us. And she did! I've been trying to take that a step or two or three farther over the years and I now have an ever growing arsenal of my favorite recipes for things I would have normally bought before. So I'd like to share some of those here from time to time.

This week I'd like to share a new favorite of mine! Salsa Verde! I'm pretty sure I had this for the first time when I was living in California, right after I graduated from high school. I decided to commit myself to a year of living in the inner city of Oakland, CA and volunteering there. It was a year that I will never forget and a year that I was introduced to a whole new world of food! Thai, Indian, Cambodian, real Mexican and Vegetarian fare were all new to me. I jumped at the chance to try any new flavors that my small town in PA couldn't offer me at that time. This green salsa was new for me and I loved it!

Fast forward 9 years to last summer when we were getting tomatillos in our weekly CSA share. We would regularly buy salsa verde at Trader Joe's, so I was pretty excited to find this simple recipe to make my own at home. It was delicious! I can't wait to make more this summer!

We enjoy our salsa with tacos, tamales, eggs, chicken and pretty much anything else you think needs a little kick of this awesome sauce!

 Salsa Verde: recipe from pretty simple great

• 1 1/2 quarts water
• 18 tomatillos, washed, husked, and quartered
• 4 serrano chiles, seeded and halved
• 5 whole cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 white onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 jalapeno, seeded (optional) 
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt

 Bring the water to a boil (cover with the lid to decrease the waiting time)

Remove the husk from them tomatillos, and discard. Wash gently under cold running water. Cut in quarters
Rough chop garlic, onion, and chiles
when water reaches a rolling boil add tomatillos, garlic, onion, and chiles. Boil on
high for 30-45 minutes

 Sift out tomatillos, garlic, onion, and chiles and set aside to cool. Reserve water for later

 Once cooled add tomatillos, garlic, onion, cilantro, salt and chiles to a food processor or blender and process. I add water until I reach my desired consistency. I like it to have small chunks of chiles and onions and not to runny. By slowly adding the reserved water, you'll have more control of the end result.