To roast, or not to roast...

August 4, 2019 10:50 AM

I’m making a tomato-based salsa, and I want to include some leftover tomatillos. Should I roast them first?

Owing to an excess of tomatillos after making a batch of chile verde, and an abundance of good tomatoes at the farmer’s market, I’m making salsa. Now, if I were making a straight-up green salsa, I would definitely roast the tomatillos first. But, with the tomatoes included, I’m going for a more chunky salsa (and not the loose salsa typical of tomatillo green salsa.)

I’ve honestly never used tomatillos without roasting them. I’m assuming they’ll do just fine unroasted and chopped. Is that a reasonable assumption? I mean, I know no one will die from this or anything, but I also don’t want to use them unroasted only to discover they somehow turn the whole mix to battery acid. FWIW, the tomatoes will far outweigh the tomatillos in this match.

Thanks all!

posted by Thorzdad to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

I make a pico de gallo using diced raw tomatillos instead of tomatoes -- it's really good, nice and punchy and fresh. Go for it.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 10:54 AM on August 4, 2019

I’m always pro roasting because of the flavor but you can definitely use them without
posted by brilliantine at 10:57 AM on August 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Roast half of them.
posted by box at 11:08 AM on August 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Their skins can be kind of tough. If you're up for the fiddliness, do a quick blanch and shock so the skins peel right off. I like the taste of raw tomatillos but they can be really assertive, so you'll want to do a pretty small chop. If you still have tomatillos remaining, they make amazing pickles.
posted by Mizu at 11:29 PM on August 4, 2019

I always roast or give them a 10 minute poach for salsa use.
posted by nenequesadilla at 7:14 PM on August 6, 2019