Identify the Mystery Purple Vegetable!

August 24, 2009 10:08 AM

MysteryVeggieFilter: can any of you vegetable experts identify this bad boy? It tasted somewhat like a tomato, although tarter, and we have no clues as to its identity as a friend dropped it off along with a bunch of other vegetables from a community garden. Thoughts?
posted by hatta to food & drink (6 comments total)

My original thought was that it looks a bit like a very fleshy Cherokee Purple tomato, a really good heirloom tomato variety. The fact that it tastes like a tomato backs that up. But you've sliced it on the vertical, so it's hard to see the seed pattern, which would be the giveaway. Another contender: Black Krim tomato.
posted by Miko at 10:14 AM on August 24

Tomatillo?
posted by Solomon at 10:15 AM on August 24

Purple Tomatillo.
posted by Alison at 10:21 AM on August 24

Purple tomatillo indeed. You can tell by the seeds -- those are tomatillo, not tomato seeds.

Roast them in the oven, along with a couple jalapenos and chunks of onion, until they blister. Put in a blender with a touch of salt. Bingo -- yummy salsa.
posted by mudpuppie at 10:23 AM on August 24

That's it! I had no idea that purple tomatillos existed, and I'm glad to discover it. And mudpuppie, if we come across any more, that sounds like a delicious salsa indeed! As usual, AskMeFi never ceases to amaze. Thanks, folks!
posted by hatta at 10:26 AM on August 24

Cool! I didn't know they came in purple.
posted by Miko at 10:29 AM on August 24