I’m beginning to question the sanity of having such a large garden. I do really enjoy gardening and all beautiful fresh edible things that it produces.  The catch is that during “harvest” time it takes up a lot of my free time to preserve the bounty. My dehydrator has been getting a workout with drying herbs, kale and chard to use during the winter months.  I’ve also been canning a lot of tomato sauces, ghost pepper strawberry jam (OMG so delicious!!), jalepeno jelly and this amazing roasted salsa verde.  I never realized one tomatillo plant could produce so many fruits!  Not a problem really, I’ve canned this salsa verde to be used for dipping and topping enchiladas all winter long!

My tomatillo plants don’t realize that fall is here.  They’re still producing like crazy so I see a few more batches of tomatillo salsa verde making in the near future. Salsa verde is very easy to make and also easy to can.  I roast all of the vegetables for about 15 minutes first to get a little char on the edges. Roasting also brings out a sweet, slightly smoky flavor that makes for irresistible eats. You can make this salsa as spicy as you want by using hotter peppers or more of them. I used a mix of anaheim, serrano, jalapeno and tossed in a ghost pepper for heat. Using a variety of peppers allows for a deeper flavor profile in addition to heat.

Aside from the abundance of tomatillos, the rest of the garden is looking a bit sparse. There’s a handful of squash and pie pumpkins hanging around waiting for me to pick and store as well as some hardy greens like kale and chard. I’ll be a busy gal the next few weeks finishing the process of preservation and then cleaning out the plants to compost. My chickens make great helpers cleaning out the plants from the garden. Or maybe they just like to keep me company because so many bugs get uprooted in the process. Either way, I have my work cut out for me this weekend with the rest of the garden cleanup and I’ll be sure to make time to have a sample of salsa verde, or two or three!

Roasted Salsa Verde

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Kari - CookingUpClean

Recipe type: Sauces and Dips

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 pound tomatillos (about 8 medium size), husked and rinsed
• 4-5 mixed hot peppers (Anaheim, jalepeno, serrano, ghost, etc), stemmed
• 1 small white onion, sliced into large rings
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• ½ cup water
• ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt, or to taste (for low sodium, use ¼ tsp)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (optional if making/eating fresh but necessary for canning)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat.
3. Place tomatillos, peppers, onion and garlic on baking sheet.
4. Roast in oven about 15 minutes, turning once halfway, until vegetables are charred and tomatillos are softened. If the peppers, onions or garlic begin to burn, take them out earlier.
5. Remove from oven and let cool.
6. Place the roasted vegetables and any accumulated juices in a blender or food processor.
7. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth.
8. For canning, pour salsa into sterilized canning jars leaving ¼" of headspace. Wipe rims of jars and place lid and ring on tightly. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Notes

Recipe yields about 2 cups.
For canning, you may want to triple the batch to get about 6 cups of salsa.
Fresh salsa will keep in fridge about one week. Canned salsa will keep unopened for about a year.

*For low sodium, use ¼ teaspoon salt = 110mg per ¼ cup serving

Nutrition Information

Serving size: ½ cup Calories: 60 Fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 12g Sodium: 426mg* Fiber: 3g Protein: 2g

3.5.3229