Roasted Tomatillo and Apple Salsa

Tomatillos, often confused with unripe green tomatoes, have a completely unique personality of their own. Both are technically berries, but unlike tomatoes, tomatillos are covered with a thin paper-like husk, and the fruit has a sticky coating underneath the husks. Raw tomatillos can be extremely tart, but cooking them helps mellow the acidity as well as soften the skin, making them perfect for a sauce.

I always like sweetness accompanying any tart flavor, so after some internet research, I decided to use apple as the complementing flavor for tomatillo salsa. This ended up being the perfect amount of sweet, sour, and spicy for me, but feel free to play with the quantities to skew the taste one way or another!

Ingredients: (Makes ~1.5-2 cups)

4 medium tomatillos - remove husks and rinse

1 medium apple (I used the Golden Delicious variety)

4-5 cloves of garlic - minced

1 small onion - roughly chopped (~⅓- ½ cup)

1 small jalapeno pepper - cored and roughly chopped (add more if you prefer a spicier salsa)

1 cup loosely packed cilantro (I used both leaves and stems)

Salt, black pepper to taste

1 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet/ baking pan with Aluminum foil.

Chop the tomatillos into quarters. Slice the apple into thick wedges. Place both on the lined baking pan in a single layer and bake in preheated oven for ~20 minutes until slightly browned.

While the tomatillos and apples are baking, prepare remaining ingredients by sauteeing the onions, garlic and jalapeno in olive oil over medium-high heat. Let them cook until you get a good char on the jalapeno and onions.

Add the onion mixture, the cooked tomatillos and apples, cilantro to a food processor and blend to your preferred consistency. Season with salt and pepper. To keep it chunky, you could reserve a couple tablespoons of finely chopped apple.

Store in the refrigerator. Serve with tortilla chips or use in your favorite Mexican recipe!

~Gayatri

Other recipes you might like:

Vegetarian Enchiladas with Sour Cream Tomatillo Sauce

Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

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Garlic and Black Pepper Roasted Cauliflower

Some foods are special to us because of the memories we associate with them. Every time we make or eat these, they remind us of a particular time or incident from the past. This pan roasted cauliflower recipe has a special place in my heart because it takes me back to my elementary school days when mom used to pack me lunch. It was always a pleasant surprise to open my lunchbox and find the roasted cauliflower simply seasoned with salt and pepper. Over the years as I started cooking for myself, this recipe has evolved perhaps because my taste has evolved. Roasting brings out the sweetness of cauliflower, so in addition to the salt and pepper seasoning, I like adding garlic to balance out that subtle sweetness, and fresh cilantro and lemon juice to really make the flavor pop!

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt

Black pepper

1 tsp oil

Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Lemon juice (optional)

Chop the cauliflower into small florets. Heat oil over medium high heat. I like using a nonstick pot for this since it doesn’t need too much oil. If using a steel pot, add a little more oil. Once oil is heated, add the garlic and cauliflower, and mix well. Sprinkle a pinch of salt, cover and cook until the cauliflower is a little tender. Keep stirring occasionally to get an even cook and to ensure the cauliflower at the bottom doesn’t burn. Add ground black pepper and more salt if required, continue to cook until cauliflower is tender to your liking. I like it a little crunchy when eating as a side, but I cook it until it is fairly soft and browned if I plan to serve it with roti. Once cooked, take it off the heat, mix in chopped cilantro, squeeze some lemon juice on top and serve hot.

~Gayatri

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Simple ingredients bring out the best flavors in fresh vegetables! Here's an easy recipe for garlic & black pepper...

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Thursday, December 10, 2015