Salsa Verde

Sometimes you need a salsa so bright it wakes up your taste buds with its freshness. This slushy, vibrantly green salsa livens up fish and cuts through the richness of meat with raw tomatillos and a few other ingredients, all of which are also green. From lime juice to chives, the shades combine to deliver the most satisfying color of chlorophyll and a flavor crisp enough to match the frosty turn of January.

While the snow may have melted not long after it fell, we enjoyed a self-imposed snow day over the weekend. On the menu was this raw salsa verde made with a batch of tomatillos I had picked up at the market. Inside the papery husks were the beautiful green fruits we had been craving, with their slightly tart flavor. Cooking tomatillos cuts down on the tang, but that boldness is the reason I turn to them in the first place, so a raw, all-green salsa is what you’ll create if you make this recipe.

Through my Cooking with Herbs classes, you’ll learn how to enjoy chives and other fresh herbs in new ways – and even how to grow them on your own. In the meantime, use them in this vibrant salsa.

Ingredients

½ pound tomatillos
1 jalapeño
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon finely minced chives
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Since we will be leaving the ingredients raw, the only equipment needed to make this tomatillo salsa is a blender, plus knife and cutting board for chopping.

Begin by preparing the tomatillos. Remove and discard their papery husks, then run them under cold water to remove the sticky residue that remains. Quarter them or cut into more pieces if the tomatillos are large.

Next halve the jalapeño and remove the seeds and ribs. Roughly chop the pepper and add to a blender along with the tomatillo pieces. Add the lime juice. For this recipe I generally use ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, but you may wish to add ⅛ teaspoon at this point and season again after blending the ingredients.

Blend the mixture until it becomes slushy and the tomatillo pieces have become much smaller. Taste and season with salt if you have not added a full ¼ teaspoon already. Stir in the minced chives.

While the salsa verde can be enjoyed immediately, I let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature so that the flavors meld. Serve it with tacos, grilled fish, pulled pork, or any dish that can use some vibrant freshness. Of course, taste it with tortilla chips as well!