Tomatillos Are Not Baby Tomatoes

Tomatillos with husks covering the berries.  

How you might ask did I become interested in tomatillos? My neighbor had a wild one growing in her garden, and I plucked one, tasted it,  and rather liked it.  I had seen cultivated tomatillos in the grocery store, but had never been inclined to try them.  Now I had a new veggie to try!  I got mixed reviews when I googled the wild ones to see if they might be edible.  Some said they were mildly toxic and others declared they were safe to eat.  After all, I had eaten one or maybe several with no ill effects.  However, I decided not to use them in my recipe.  

Although tomatillos are close relatives of tomatoes than taste a bit different.  They are more acidic and don't have the sweet flavor of a ripe tomato.  When you remove the husk, you are left with a bright green berry.  Now how to use these?  Googling I found a number of recipes where mostly they are made into a sauce or salsa.  They can be eaten raw or cooked.  

Tomatillos with the outer husks removed. 

This is a recipe I modified from one I found online.    This is what Mexicans call Salsa Verde.  I made the creamy version by adding an avocado.  

• 1 lb (more or less) tomatillos (about 7 to 8 medium), husked and rinsed
• 1 small to medium Serrano pepper, chopped
• ½ cup chopped white onion (about ½ medium onion)
• ¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves (more if you love cilantro)
• juice of one lime
• ½ to 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1 diced avocado 

Slice the tomatillos and place them in a blender  or food processor with all the other ingredients.  Pulse until desired consistency is reached.  

I served the salsa to accompany black beans and rice and sliced grape tomatoes.  But I think the salsa would be good as a dip or as a sauce for fish or chicken.  

I also made an open-faced sandwich by toasting a slice of bread, and spreading vegan cream cheese and a sliced tomatillo on top.  This made for an interesting breakfast one morning. 

Toast topped with vegan cream cheese and sliced tomatillos.  

I'm glad I tried this new to me vegetable.