Salsa Verde, 2013

I made my salsa verde without a tomatillo crop.  Last year they were abundant, but this year I got three marble sized fruits.  I did some research and found that my suspicion was right.  You do need more than one plant to have a crop.  Check out the link which answers most questions you may have about growing them yourself.

I did have a good amount of green tomatoes on hand.  My 4th of July variety is even the same size as most tomatillos, so it worked out well.  I did every thing the same as last year's salsa verde.  I doubled the recipe for 7 half pints and 4 full pints.  I enjoy the roasted, smoky flavors of grilling the ingredients before processing.  Next year, I will put in more than one plant!

Canning Season

green beans, corn, dilly beans

French beans

salsa

salsa verde

I have been putting up more of my garden in jars this year as we are getting beef from a local farmer this fall.  I need the freezer space for the meat, but I also like the convenience of grabbing a jar of veggies and heating them on the stove. 

This year I am trying some new things.  I have never made dilly beans.  I shared the recipe on a earlier piece.  I am also making salsa verde this year as I planted four tomatillo plants.  Husk tomatoes make a great sauce for a different twist.  Here is the recipe I meshed together to make a salsa verde which I was able to can.

Roasted Salsa Verde

2 quarts of tomatillos husked, washed, and cut in half

4 cloves of garlic

3 medium to large onions peeled and quartered

4 jalapeno peppers split and seeded

olive oil to coat vegetables lightly

Using a grilling basket or foil over grill rack, roast the prepared vegetables that have been tossed with olive oil until softened (about 10 minutes on a hot grill).

1 cup chopped cilantro

4 lemons, juiced 

4 limes, juiced 

1 t cumin

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Add the above ingredients to the roasted vegetables in a food processor to puree or put all directly into a large kettle and blend until smooth with an immersion blender.  Cook the salsa verde until hot and slightly thickened (I let it simmer about 20 minutes or so).

Follow canning directions for hot water bath or pressure cooker.  There is more to read than I feel like typing for safe canning methods. Have jars sterile and hot and lids sterile and hot.  Fill jars with 1/2" of head space.  Hot water bath pints and half pints for 20 minutes.  If you prefer to pressure can them use 5 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes.

This made 7 half pint (jelly size) jars in my first round.  Also tastes pretty good straight from the kettle.

I use my pressure canner a little more lately as it takes the uncertainty out of the acidity equation for water bath canning.  It also takes less water.  Allowing the canner to cool naturally before opening does take more time.  If you move it to a cooling rack on the counter from the stove, it does shorten that time a bit.

tomatillo plant