You say tomatillo, I say tummyache

September 27, 2005 5:29 PM

Is there anything I can make with tomatillos beside salsa?

My tomatillo bush became a tomatillo tree over the summer and now it's raining tomatillos outside.

I've made salsa and used it as a sauce for making huevos rancheros. I'm having a hard time finding any recipes for tomatilllos other than a million and one types of salsa.

Two human beings can only consume so much salsa, and we're reaching our limit!

posted by divka to food & drink (18 comments total)

I got 56 recipes after typing tomatillo into Recipesource.com.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 5:35 PM on September 27, 2005

Pickle them. I could go for some pickled tomatillos right now. Add some thick sliced carrots and jalapenos. Yum.
posted by Mr T at 5:41 PM on September 27, 2005

The problem is that majority of the recipes in Recipesource and elsewhere are either salsa or what is just salsa serving as a sauce on something else.

Pickled would be different though...that's worth a shot.
posted by divka at 5:47 PM on September 27, 2005

You could even pickle a bunch, can them and use them as gifts at the holidays. It's kind of quirky but it would be memorable.
posted by Mr T at 5:56 PM on September 27, 2005

Soup, mole, bisque, bean chowder, corn soup, wine!
posted by barnone at 6:03 PM on September 27, 2005

Or just make more salsa since you must be an expert at it by now, and give that out for the holidays.
posted by leapingsheep at 6:20 PM on September 27, 2005

Baked, stuffed tomatoes are great. Cheese, breadcrumbs and just be creative. That, or check out google's results on 'stuffed tomotoes recipe'

Also, there's marinara which you can add to pasta for a cheap meal. Here's my mom's recipe:
2-3 parts chopped tomatoes, de-seeded and de-juiced
1 part onions, chopped as small as you want them, and lightly sauteed (for maybe 5+ minutes)
add some garlic, salt, pepper, oregano. Don't over-do it on the oregano but you can't go wrong with lotsa garlic IMO

First you thow the chopped tomatoes into a food processor and purre. Saute the onoins and then put everything together in a pot and simmer it on low heat, uncovered for a long ass time. You can go at least an hour of simmering and stirring pretty often, but probably 2 or 3 hours to really unlock the flavah.

Add some condensed tomato soup later if you need to thicken it a little.
posted by cbecker333 at 6:56 PM on September 27, 2005

Sorbet!
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:01 PM on September 27, 2005

Chili Verde
posted by hortense at 7:01 PM on September 27, 2005

Sorry, I almost forgot...re: the marinara recipe, add a few tablespoons of olive oil.
posted by cbecker333 at 7:22 PM on September 27, 2005

Very Green Salad:

Take two ripe avocadoes, a pinch lime zest, juice of two limes, a bunch of fresh, minced cilantro, 3 or so tomatillos, and salt. Chop everything into coarse dice, mix, and eat. Serve over salad greens or on top of grilled fish or chicken if desired.

You can add other stuff, like jalapenos or green peppers or whatever. The only rule is, it has to be green.

Can you cook tomatillos? One of my ex-boyfriends made a wonderful pasta sauce by broiling whole tomatoes. Once the skins had blackened on all sides, and the tomatoes got squishy, he'd take them out, removed the charred skins, mash them up, and combine them with garlic-infused olive oil, dried oregano, and red wine. You might try a similar thing with tomatillos. I don't know how they'd go with red wine or oregano, though. Maybe add fresh basil?
posted by Lycaste at 7:36 PM on September 27, 2005

Posole verde.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 7:40 PM on September 27, 2005

Carnitas (at least, if you eat pork).
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:37 PM on September 27, 2005

Kiwis sometimes serve tomatillos mixed with other fruit at breakfast. They just cut raw fruit in half and the eater uses a spoon. It's a bit of an acquired taste perhaps, but the sharpness is a nice complement to sweeter fruits like oranges, grapes, and ... uhh ... kiwis. After all, like the love apple, the tomatillo is a fruit.
posted by rob511 at 2:37 AM on September 28, 2005

Roast 'em and put them in some mac and cheese. Sweet Jesus, that's good.
posted by Atom12 at 6:28 AM on September 28, 2005

Just so everyone is clear, tomatillos are not tomatos. They're related, they look kind of like a little green tomato, but that have a completely different taste that would make for a very strange marinara sauce.
posted by Juliet Banana at 10:49 AM on September 28, 2005

They are great roasted and pureeed as an addition to the butternut squash soup of your choice.
posted by redfoxtail at 12:11 PM on September 28, 2005

I have to second the pozole verde.
Thursday is Pozole Day at the cafeteria near where I work, and I am obsessed with it.
Can't get enough.
posted by exceptinsects at 5:09 PM on September 28, 2005