Roasted Garlic & Tomatillo Salsa

Roasted Garlic and Tomatillo Salsa is another great way to use your fall harvest. Tomatillo,  also known as a Mexican Husk Tomato, is a member of the nightshade family, related to tomatoes and comes in green to purple colors.

I got some beautiful purple and green organic tomatillos in our basket this week from The Gentleman Farmer, a local family-owned farm. The Gentleman Farmer is one of the most beautiful farms in northern Illinois and offers a CSA program. I love to drive the winding roads to the barn to pick up the latest harvest. This week's share also included white onions, potatoes, beets, brussels sprouts on the stalk, hakurai turnips, squash and a pie pumpkin. I love my salsa spicy and bold so I decided to do a Roasted Garlic and Tomatillo salsa. It is very easy to roast the veggies and toss in a food processor.

I also used a secret ingredient - Cilantro Paste from Gourmet Garden. It  gave the salsa a wonderful fragrance and texture. You can find Gourmet Garden products in the produce section of most grocery stores. I like having a variety of Gourmet Garden spices on hand since they keep in the refrigerator for up to a month once opened. Really handy in a pinch.

I cleaned and washed the veggies, cut in quarters and then roasted at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Squeeze out the garlic and puree all the roasted veggies in a food processor. Done. Couldn't be easier.  For more tips on how to roast whole garlic heads see this article from cooknovel.com.

Does anyone else prefer Fritos Scoops to tortilla corn chips like me?

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Roasted Garlic & Tomatillo Salsa

Using local organic tomatillos, onions, and japalenos make a wonderful quick salsa. I added lots of garlic for a special spicy and bold taste. Roasting everything at high heat to get a good char also helps add to the flavor. For this recipe I used a Cilantro Paste from Gourmet Garden for extra flavor and texture.

Course Appetizer

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4 - 6 servings

Author Homemade Italian Cooking with Cara

Ingredients

• 6 medium organic tomatillos, husks removed, washed well
• 6 cloves garlic unpeeled
• 1 small organic white onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 - 3 jalapeno peppers optional, remove the seeds and membranes for less heat, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon. kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 heaping tablespoons Gourmet Garden Cilantro Paste or 1 cup fresh cilantro, packed
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 green onions chopped, including green tops

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
• After husking the tomatillos, rinse in cool water. Core the stems and cut any large ones in half.
• Combine the tomatillos, garlic, onion, and the jalapeno on the lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss the ingredients to make sure they are all well-coated.
• Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes until you get a good char. If the vegetables have not charred, turn the broiler on to high and cook for 3-5 more minutes or until the skins begin to turn black. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
• When the vegetables have cooled, carefully squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin, releasing the soft garlic clove into work bowl of a food processor. Add the remaining roasted vegetables, salt, pepper, cilantro paste and lime juice. Process until the desired consistency is reached and then transfer to a serving dish. Stir in the chopped green onions and serve with corn chips.