Salsa Verde (Cooked Tomatillo Salsa with Cilantro and Jalapeno)

Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde is a classic Mexican salsa made from cooked green tomatillos. It is absolutely delicious on Carnitas or as a dipping salsa for tortilla chips (in addition to being great on many other Mexican dishes). This recipe comes courtesy of Deborah Schneider and her book Salsas and Moles, which has proven to be an indispensable guide for our Mexican and Mexican-inspired cooking.

Salsa Verde's main ingredient is the green tomatillo. Similar in a way to the tomato, in that it looks like a small to medium green tomato on the outside and has seeds inside, the tomatillo is quite different than a tomato. Tomatillos may also be purple-green in color, but as far as I know this is only a visual variation that has no impact on flavor. A tomatillo typically comes with a husk surrounding the fruit, which is removed before washing the fruit. You may notice a sticky residue on the tomatillo after removing the husk (this is normal), but it will disappear with a little running water. Tomatillos have a tart-sweet flavor that is complemented nicely by the onion, jalapeno, and cilantro in the recipe.

Tomatillos (with and without husks) - including a cool purple-green one!

Ingredients

• 10-12 medium tomatillos, husked and washed
• 1 clove of garlic
• ½ white onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large jalapeno or serrano chile, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 10 sprigs cilantro (tough stems removed, tender stems included)
• (optional) ½ of a lime

Directions

1. Place tomatillos, garlic, onion, jalapeno, and salt in a saucepan (2 ½ to 3 ½ quart). Add just enough water to barely cover the tomatillos then bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Boil until tomatillos are tender and the tip of a knife can be inserted, about 5 minutes. Do not overcook. You want tender, not mushy.
   
   

   

   Ingredients in the pot with water

   
   
   

   

   Cooked tomatillo mix ready for blending

   
   
   
3. Drain off the cooking water and transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender. Add the cilantro leaves then pulse the mixture until smooth. Specks of cilantro and some tomatillo seeds will still be visible after pulsing.
4. Add a squeeze of lime (start with a little, and increase as desired, but don't add too much!) and taste to adjust seasoning. You want to primarily taste the tomatillo with a bit of added sweetness, heat, herb, and acid from the remaining ingredients.
5. Enjoy with chips or try it out on top of some freshly made carnitas!

Notes

• If using table salt, use ½ tsp, then add more at the end if needed.
• Add another clove of garlic if you are a garlic lover.
• Serrano peppers are typically spicier than jalapeno peppers. If you enjoy spicy salsas, use a serrano. If you like milder salsas, feel free to remove the seeds from the chile pepper before using.
• You can use a food processor or even an immersion blender instead of a regular blender. I have found that a blender makes the best salsa, though, so use one if you can.

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Enchiladas (chicken, shrimp, or vegetarian)

Enchiladas!

Enchiladas are an easy and delicious dinner that comes together quickly enough to enjoy on a weeknight. These particular enchiladas are filled with a mix of onion, pepper, corn, black beans, and an optional protein of your choice. The seasoning mix of cumin, marjoram, and chipotle powder provides notes of warm spice, herb, and smoked pepper to create a full-flavored filling that won't disappoint!

This recipe makes 6 enchiladas, but can easily be doubled to serve a larger group or to make extras for leftovers. Enchiladas make excellent leftovers for lunch or dinner. A typical serving is one enchilada, as these are fairly large, so a pan of 6 enchiladas is enough for three meals for the two of us.

Serves: 6

Time: about 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ red bell pepper, diced (about ½ cup)
• ½ medium yellow onion (about ½ cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 x 15 ounce can black beans, drained
• 1 x 4 ounce green chilis
• ½ pound chicken or shrimp, cooked and cut into ¼"-½" pieces (about 1 cup total)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp marjoram
• ½ tsp chipotle powder
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro (leaves and thin stems)
• 1 x 16-19 ounce can green enchilada sauce
• 8 ounce bag shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 6 tortillas

Directions

Sauté pepper, onion, and garlic (we added some hatch chili pepper this time)

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté onions, bell pepper, and garlic for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant and vegetables are beginning to soften.
2. Add corn, drained beans, and green chili and sauté for another 2 minutes.
   
   

   

   Enchilada filling, removed from heat and ready to stir in cilantro.

   
   
3. Add chicken or shrimp, cumin, marjoram, and chipotle powder, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute or two until combined and warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
4. Grease a 9"x13" glass pan so enchiladas will not stick to pan.
   
   
   

   

   Filled, rolled, and topped enchiladas ready for the oven

   
   
5. Roll enchiladas: take a tortilla and spread a small sprinkle of cheese down the center then fill with one-sixth of the enchilada filling. Roll tortilla then place in greased pan seam side down. Repeat until pan is filled (a standard pan will fit six enchiladas perfectly).
6. Drizzle enchilada sauce over the enchiladas then top with remaining cheese (or as much as desired).
7. Bake enchiladas in a 350℉ oven for 20 minutes. Cheese should be fully melted and gooey. After baking, remove from oven and let sit to cool slightly before serving.
8. Serve with chopped cilantro, guacamole, sour cream, and hot sauce.

Notes

• We love garlic and typically use 4 or 5 cloves. This gives the dish a touch more garlic kick, but by no means makes it overpowering.
• Chili pepper and paprika can both be added to the dish if desired. Cayenne pepper could also be added to give the filling a bit more kick, but add sparingly at first!
• Try adding a little poblano or hatch chili pepper to the dish for an additional twist. We recommend keeping at least ¼ cup of regular bell pepper in the mix for its natural sweetness to balance the flavors of other chili peppers.

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Carnitas (only 3 ingredients!)

Carnitas Tacos

Carnitas are perhaps the most well know food item from Mexican cuisine found in the United States. Seemingly every taco truck, taqueria, and Mexican restaurant in the country serves carnitas in some form, as do a surprisingly large number of non-Mexican cuisine focused establishments. These delicious morsels of pork are tender, succulent, perfectly fried, and absolutely delicious whether stuffed into tacos, burritos, tamales, tostadas, gorditas, and more. Carnitas are also exceedingly easy to make at home!

While the recipe provided here does not use the large copper pots and pork lard used by the true carnitas experts, it does produce outrageously delicious carnitas that pay homage to the history of the dish and Mexican cuisine. This particular recipe comes courtesy of Diana Kennedy, a very well known cookbook author with an extensive background in Mexican cuisine. You can find it over on the Food52 website, here and here, or in Kennedy's "The Essential Cuisines of Mexico" cookbook.

For the home cook, all you need are the three ingredients, a heavy-sided pot like a Dutch oven, and a little bit of time (most of it hands-off time). Cut up the pork, add some salt, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and simmer until the water has boiled away, the pork fat has rendered, and the pork is lightly fried. Then, use in whatever your favorite dish is. In this post, we enjoy them in straightforward street tacos using corn tortillas and topped with fresh minced onion and cilantro. A little hot sauce is a great addition if you enjoy some spice on your tacos.

Time: 2½ to 3 hours

Serves: 4-6 people, 2-3 tacos each

Ingredients

• ~3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt, skin removed (and deboned if not boneless)
• 2 tsp salt (use a bit more if kosher salt)
• cold water to cover

Directions

1. Cut pork into pieces a bit larger than a 1" cube. They don't need to be all the same size or shape.
   
   

   

   Pork and salt

   
   

   

   Covered with water

   
   
2. Add pork and salt to the Dutch oven and barely cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, uncovered.
   
   

   

   Carnitas at a simmer

   
   

   

   After simmering for about an hour

   
   
3. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until water has evaporated, about 1½ hours. Meat should be cooked but not falling apart.
   
   

   

   Simmering pork in rendered fat

   
   
4. Lower heat a bit more (low simmer) and continue to cook pork in its rendered fat until meat is lightly browned all over, about another hour.
   
   

   

   Pan-frying carnitas

   
   
5. [optional] Heat a small nonstick pan over medium to medium-high heat. When warm, add some of the carnitas (enough for however many tacos you want) and pan fry until the pork is nicely crisped in places.
6. Serve hot and enjoy!

Extra pictures!

Minced cilantro and onion

Carnitas Tacos with onion, cilantro, lime, and jalapeno hot sauce

Notes

• Use pork with a fair amount of fat. I have never had issues when using a good chunk of pork shoulder.
• For a straightforward carnitas taco, mince some fresh cilantro and white onion, then fill a corn tortilla with some carnitas and top with onion and cilantro. Squeeze a little fresh lime juice over the taco from a lime wedge. Optionally top with your favorite hot sauce.

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