Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Creamy Salsa Verde

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You know those treats that you can't help yourself from polishing off entirely in ONE sitting?  Like a magnet, you just can't keep your hands off.  This creamy salsa verde is one of them.  It is SO good, you might not be able to stop yourself!


Yes, we typically think of these types of treats as a bag of potato chips or a box of cookies and subsequently associate a binge like this with a heaping side of guilt.  However, polishing off a little jar of this creamy salsa verde is a guilt free indulgence! The only ingredients are healthy, real food: avocado, tomatillo, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, honey/agave and lime. (okay, so if we want to be technical, there may be some tortilla chips involved...)


Not only is the ingredient list simple, but the recipe is super easy to make.  Just roughly chop the ingredients and give them a little whirl in the food processor or blender.  Your friends and family will be amazed at your exotic, authentic Mexican flavor skills. Ahem... that is if you are able save any for them...


Ingredients:
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 3 tomatillos (husks removed and rinsed)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 white onion
  • 1/2 fresh jalapeno (1/2 keeps it very mild, add more for more heat)
  • juice from 1 lime
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon of honey or agave
  • pinch of salt

Directions:

  • Peel tomatillos of their husks and rinse off the slightly sticky texture. Roughly chop and add to food processor.
  • Open avocado, remove pit and scoop out into food processor.  (See my avocado tips below recipe)
  • Peel and roughly chop garlic, add to food processor. 
  • Roughly chop and add 1/2 white onion, jalapeno, and cilantro.
  • Add lime juice, honey/agave, and a pinch of salt.
  • Give it all a whirl in the food processor until you reach the consistency you like.

I ate a whole jar (!) of this by myself, with just chips, but my oh my, was it ever tantalizing on Chile-Coffee Braised Beef Brisket Tacos! See the taco recipe under the kitchen tab, or simply click here.


Avocado tips:

Being from SoCal, avocados were a staple for me as a kid.  Most of my neighbor's yards had an avocado tree, many of them even considered the trees and their avocados a nuisance. Can you imagine? This avocado lover cannot!  Avocado trees in SoCal were as commonplace as the crab-apple trees we now see in our Colorado neighbors' yards.  Eating and handling avocados are some of my earliest memories.  Here's how I do it:
  • Select an avocado that feels slightly soft- not mushy- when you give it a gentle squeeze.
  • With a butter knife, puncture the peel and slice vertically, all the way around the pit inside.
  • When the avocado is split, give the pit a firm whack with the butter knife.  This should lodge the knife into the pit enough to "grab hold". Give the knife-pit combo a little twist to loosen the pit, then it should lift out easily.
  •  Now that the avocado is "pit-less", and working with one half at a time, make vertical slices all the way through and repeat with horizontal slices.  Then you will run the butter knife along the peel and little cubes will fall out easily.


41 comments:

  1. This looks wonderful! How long will it keep in the fridge?

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    1. Thanks, Amy!

      Well, the first few batches never made it to the fridge- we gobbled it up too fast! I have had a jar in the fridge for a little over 4 weeks now and it is still fresh. The citric acid in the lime juice acts as a natural preservative, so I expect it to keep a while longer still. Does this help?
      -Stacey

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    2. Yes! Thanks so much. We are having a party this weekend and I want to get as much prep done ahead of time that I can.

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    3. Hi Amy-

      I hope your party was a smashing success! Any prep that can be done ahead of time is always welcome, right? :)

      -Stacey

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  2. Just made this! I used a whole habanero pepper so I am sure it will get spicier. :-) It is SUPER AWESOME! My 11 year old loves it too! Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. That's wonderful, Denise!! Thank you! It doesn't hurt when the whole family likes a dish that is healthy as well as delicious. My 4 year old won't eat anything green, but loves this salsa verde, too (that's why we keep it mild, but that whole habanero you added sounds GREAT!).
      I am very glad you and your family enjoyed my recipe :)
      -Stacey

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  3. Really great recipe! I'd recommend tasting it before adding the honey though. I didn't and it ended up much too sweet for my taste because tomatillos are already sweet enough for me!

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    1. Hi there-

      Thank you! I had never thought of tomatillos as sweet before (they taste a little sour to me). Thanks for sharing- good advice! Isn't interesting how different each of our palates can be? :) Also, I used agave instead of honey, so maybe that's why I didn't find it so sweet?

      -Stacey

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    2. Yes, I agree - it's really good but the honey made it too sweet. I will make it without next time!

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  4. Can you buy tomatillos At a regular grocery store? What fruit or veggie are they around? I've never heard of it before.

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    1. Yes! You sure can. We live in Colorado and our King Soopers (Kroger store) has had them out year round. I find them in the same area where they display the tomatoes, garlic, avocados and sometimes shallots and onions. Good luck!

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  5. I'm obsessed with salsa verde and avocados so this looks like the best thing in the world to me. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. You are welcome! I am sure you will love this- I sure do!! Mmmm, making me hungry right now...

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  6. I'm used to makeing this too but my mom taught me to ROAST the Tomatillos, by placing them on a Steel cooking fork, OVER OPEN FLAME, till the skin blisters and slighltly turns blacken, Keep a watchful eye, cause once they get warm-and start to get warm-blister soon-very soon thereafter their outter skin will begin to roast(Blacken), and then you need to turn them. For added flavor you can also do the same to a larger RED TOMATO, (best to ROAST TOO). this-and ROASTING---GIVES this sauce an ADDED OOMPH in Flavor...remember to adjust the salt!!

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  7. Do you think this recipe could either frozen or canned for the winter months? We have people here who grow tomatillos durning our summer months. I have arecipe for Salsa Verde that you can can. We need to put food awY FOR OUR SNOWY winter months.

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    1. Bonnie,
      I have made a large batch and canned it. Just to err on the side of caution, I added an extra teaspoon of lime juice to each pint jar.
      -Stacey

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  8. This is over the top good!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe. :)

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    1. Pam, thank you so much!! I am very glad you enjoyed it :)

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  9. Can you use a blender because I don't have a food processor

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  10. OH...MY...GOSH! This stuff is fantastic! The flavors are wonderful. Even my picky 11 year old liked it, and he doesn't venture far from boxed mac and cheese! I doubled the recipe and kept 1 jar for myself and the other will be going to a luncheon at work tomorrow. Seriously, so delicious!

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  11. Wow! This stuff is amazing! I've never had tomatillos before, but I love avocados (who doesn't, really?) and just had to try it. I would love to link back to you on my blog for a recipe that this inspired, if you don't mind. Wonderful!

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    1. Excellent! I am very glad you enjoyed it. We have tomatillos that grow wild along the fence in our yard. We never planted them, but they come back every year.
      I don't mind at all if you link back to me, thank you very much for the compliment :)

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  12. Have you tried canned tomatillos at all?

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    1. I have not, I've only ever used fresh. Since all the ingredients are blended, I assume it would turn out just fine.

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  13. Oh my gosh, this salsa is so good, I was trying to figure out how I could stick my head in the processor container so I could lick the nobby peice that holds the attachments lol ;-) But really WOW...amazing amazing salsa! Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Um, I think I might have tried to figure that out too! ;) I am very glad you liked it as much as we do.

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  14. Made this for the second time. I have to double the recipe because my family loves it so much. Thank you for sharing it.

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    1. lol We've pretty much resigned to always doubling the batch too! Glad you like it. :)

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  15. My husband just made this for me! Super yummy...I have been looking for a avocado/tomatillo salsa recipe since we found a restaurant here that has a yummy version and this is super close to it! Thanks for sharing!

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  16. Hi Stacey! I just want you to know that I LOVE this salsa. I included it in a recipe on my blog and linked to your page. Check it out! Rich and Raw Portobello Tacos on Boy, Cant She Eat! www.boycansheeat.com

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    1. You flatter me! Thank you! And your taco recipe looks delish, cannot wait to give it a try. :)

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  17. I cannot eat avocados. Can I just leave them out? Will it do anything to the texture or moisture? Thanks

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    1. I'm afraid that leaving out the avocado would really change the flavor and texture too much. The avocado is what makes this recipe unique as a "creamy" salsa verde. However, I am sure you can find a great traditional salsa verde recipe that doesn't typically include avocados. Good luck!

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  18. I have made this twice and everyone loves it. The second time I roast the tomatoes and jalapeños and omg it's even better.

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  19. Oh my gosh this is amazing. My almost 10 year old wanted more jalapeno but the 1 I used was just perfect for a medium salsa. Thank you, I will make this again and again. I can't wait for fish tacos tomorrow night.

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  20. Yum...It looks like the fabulous avocado salsa from El Pollo Loco..Hope it taste as good.

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  21. I'm from Mexico and I had never seen a tomatillo salsa recipe that does not cook (in some way or another) the tomatillos before blending. Interesting. I'll have to try it! Thanks for sharing.

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  22. This recipe looks delicious but my husband is highly allergic to avocados. What would you use instead?

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