So, you like Mexican food, but maybe you are getting a little burnt out on that red tomato flavor? Enter the verde! This is a great sauce that you can use for just about any dish you would normally garnish or make with a salsa roja or ranchera sauce and get a great, new taste. It’s easy to make and way more flavorful than the crap sold in cans in the “stuff non-white people eat’ isle. Give it a try, you’ll be pleased.

Ingredients

• 1 pound tomatillos
• 1/2 large, white onion, chopped
• 1-to-2 Serrano chili peppers, chopped
• 1 garlc clove, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Prep

• In a small sauce pan, add tomatillos, onion, peppers, and cilanto.
• Add enough water to just cover the veggies, about 2 cups.

• Add cumin, salt, and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Using either a blender or, ideally, an immersion blender that you can stick right in the pot, puree the ingredients.
• Taste the salsa and add a little more salt, a 1/4 teaspoon at a time until you are happy.

What can I do with my salsa verde?

This sauce is great to use for enchiladas and casseroles, especially if you are looking for an alternative to ranchera sauce. You can also garnish tacos and rellenos, or make a wet burrito by covering in a generous amount of sauce, sprinkling with jack cheese, and baking at 325 degrees for about 5 minutes. You just want the cheese to melt.

If you like to grill, you can use this sauce as a marinade for chicken or garnish on shrimp. The cumin in the sauce makes it very robust so it can stand up to any cut of steak as a garnish, too.

If you are into creative pizzas, you could use this sauce instead of tomato, add slices of cooked steak, chopped white onion, and chopped tomatoes with shredded mozzarella or jack cheese. Sprinkle with cilantro when its out of the oven. Damn, I am making myself really hungry.

Feel free to check out my recipes using salsa verde if you are looking for ideas.

• The Verde Burger
• Chicken Verde Casserole

~Nom On