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Carol Schmidt

Jul 28, 2004, 8:38 PM

Post #1 of 10 (948 views)

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Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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I followed Esperanza's recipe from a search here:
>Buy fresh tomatillos and peel off the husk, then wash them well. For every half kilo of tomatillos, use 4 or 5 chiles serrano and one clove of garlic. Put all the tomatillos, the chiles, and the garlic in a pot of water big enough to accomodate them with room for them to roll around. Boil until the tomatillos start to burst, one by one. As they burst, take them out with a slotted spoon and put them in your BLENDER. When all the tomatillos have burst, put the chiles and the garlic in the blender as well. Add a little of the cooking liquid if you think it needs it. Liquify. Then add a bunch (literally a bunch) of cilantro and blend again until the cilantro is in tiny pieces. Add salt to taste and voila. A million times better than anything in a CAN. >

It tasted bland to me. So I looked at a recipe I'd saved from the Thursday food section of the Herald and it said the same thing but to then cook the mixture in a skillet preheated with a teaspoon of oil for 5 minutes, add a teaspoon of sugar, and simmer 15 more minutes. I did that. Still bland.

Anything else I can add? More serranos diced fine? Should I cook them first? Canned chipolte in adobo sauce, minced fine? Garlic powder? It needs both more heat and more zinginess of some sort. Lime juice?

Carol Schmidt

esperanza

Jul 28, 2004, 9:17 PM

Post #2 of 10 (947 views)

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Re: [Carol Schmidt] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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Carol, you must have found a bunch of chiles serrano that were pretty mild. This happens sometimes, especially if the chiles are a little old. Usually the fresher they are, the hotter they are. If you break one open in the market, you can smell how hot they are. What I find is that if the chiles sit around in my refrigerator for a week or so, they lose some of their heat factor.

I have never cooked the salsa post-blending. I have never put anything else in it--like the things that you suggest--especially not chile chipotle en adobo, and not limón either. The salsa verde I make is frequently more picante than many people care for, although in fact salsa verde is supposed to be milder than salsa roja.

You can put as many chiles to cook with the tomatillos as you like; that will up the ante as far as picante goes. But as for other ingredients, I wouldn't add any if you want an authentic salsa verde.

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Carol Schmidt

Jul 28, 2004, 10:17 PM

Post #3 of 10 (943 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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Thanks, Esperanza. I'll more chopped serranos, and more salt, too. The serranos were from last week, so that may have been the problem.

Carol Schmidt

sandykayak

Jul 29, 2004, 11:38 AM

Post #4 of 10 (931 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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i just copied that recipe, esperanza.

I usually just put the cilantro leaves but was wondering if by the whole bunch you mean stems and all?

PS I bought you a couple of Friskee salmon tins yesterday. You said "shredded chicken and salmon" in another forum. Is that two kinds or one? Could not find that combination so just bought two cans. Thanksgiving treat for Chepo et al.
Sandy Kramer
Miami, Fla & El Parque

esperanza

Jul 29, 2004, 12:48 PM

Post #5 of 10 (922 views)

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Re: [sandykayak] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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I usually put about 4-5" of stem in with the leaves. The blender just grinds it all up.

Chepo likes the Friskies shredded chicken and salmon best. It's just one of the zillion flavors Friskies makes. It only comes in the 5.5 oz cans. Elke brought a ton of it down, but he's always grateful for any of it he can get.

Thanks, Sandy.

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Anonimo

Jul 31, 2004, 6:50 AM

Post #6 of 10 (897 views)

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Re: [Carol Schmidt] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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Carol, try dry-frying the chiles serranos first, before chopping them and adding to the tomatillos.

Saludos,
Anonimo

Carol Schmidt

Jul 31, 2004, 10:38 AM

Post #7 of 10 (886 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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Dry frying? You mean like warming them on a comal? I thouht that was done on dried chiles to make them pliable and release their oils. Do you mean really hot frying, like grilling them, like you would do to char a poblano before peeling and seeding? Would it give a bit of smokiness to the fresh serranos? I do like that smoky taste.

I added more fresh chopped serranos and minced garlic and more salt and pepper to my bland tomatillo sauce, and finally added some lime juice. It's pretty good now. Not authentic per Esperanza's recipe, but it suits me. Had it on chilaquiles this morning--yummy.

Carol Schmidt

Lavanda

Aug 1, 2004, 3:18 PM

Post #8 of 10 (866 views)

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Re: [Carol Schmidt] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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Carol, remember that the riper (pale yellower) the tomatillos are. the sweeter they are. The greener, harder they are- the more acid. That may be part of the problem.

Also, yes, you can roast onion, garlic, and tomatillos on the comal till they soften and have brown spots on them. That will enhance the flavor. Also tomatoes, and, as you said, dried chiles.

!! Viva Mexico, warts and all !!!

Anonimo

Aug 7, 2004, 6:28 AM

Post #9 of 10 (843 views)

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Re: [Lavanda] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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Right, Carol and Lavanda: roaast your ingredients on a comal to caramelize their sugars and bring out the taste. Do that also with the garlic. Do it very quickly and carefully with any dried herbs and spices.
That should put the "Boom!" back in the "Boom shacka lacka"

Saludos,
Anonimo

gbatrucks

Aug 12, 2004, 1:26 PM

Post #10 of 10 (817 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] Bland cooked tomatillo salsa verde

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Thanks for the info on roasting the serranos...I had been considering doing that when I next experiment with the recipe also on this forum, Salsa de Chile Arbol.
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