With Jason Grow
Jason Grow learned his Hispanic inspired recipes from his mother growing up in New Mexico. Here is one of his longtime favorites, using roasted tomatillos instead of tomatoes to make salsa.
What is a tomatillo? It looks suspiciously like a tomato with a husk on it, but although it is in the same family, there are significant differences. It is actually related to the Cape Gooseberry which like the tomatillo is also indigenous to South America. Tomatillos have a citrus-like taste to them and are staples in Mexican and South American cooking, especially for green sauces. Many people mistakenly assume that green sauces and salsas are made with green tomatoes, but they are more likely to be made with tomatillos.
When buying tomatillos choose the smaller ones as they tend to be sweeter than the larger ones. The outer, papery husk should be light brown and not shriveled to indicate that it is fresh. For storing you should leave the husk on and store in the refrigerator or on a counter. Instead of being soft like tomatoes, you want them to still be firm.
Remove the husks before cooking or preparing, as it is not edible. You should also rinse them because they will have a sticky substance on the skin. You also do not want to peel them. Roasting under the broiler or over a grill to get a smoky flavor, such as in this salsa recipe, will enhance the taste. Be aware that you want a hot heat to roast them because they might turn mushy before being properly charred.
Jason makes this salsa frequently and insists that it can be improvised as you go, making changes according to your tastes. If you follow his recipe, you will be more than satisfied the first time you make it. He also suggests that you make your own tortillas, which is very easily done as he has been doing since childhood.
