Salsa Verde: Tomatillo Salsa (4-ways)

Three different variations of salsa verde, in dip bowls, with a hand dipping a tostone into one of them.

Get the Recipe: Salsa Verde: Tomatillo Salsa (4-ways)

Pick your favorite salsa verde (tomatillo salsa) from 4 variations: traditional, roasted poblano, creamy avocado, and a mix of the three.

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Yield8 servings (1/4c or 60ml)

Prep25

Cook20

Total45

Ingredients

Traditional Salsa Verde

10 medium tomatillos
1-2 jalapeño(s) or serranos
1 tablespoon neutral oil
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
⅓ bunch cilantro, (middle of the bunch soft stems and some leaves)
2-3 cloves fresh garlic
1 white onion
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, (additional to taste)

Roasted Poblano Salsa Verde

3 poblano peppers

Guac-Verde (Salsa Verde con Aguacate)

2 avocados
¼-½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Equipment

kitchen scale (optional)
1 cutting board
1 chef knife
Measuring spoons
1 baking sheet
tongs
medium bowl or plastic baggie (optional)
cling wrap (optional)
measuring Cups (optional)
1 Small Sauce Pot (optional)
1 tool for scraping up fond (optional)
food processor or blender

Print Recipe

Instructions

First, turn on your oven to 425°F (218°C) with a sheet pan inside. Let it come to temp and get everything nice and hot for at least 30 minutes.
While the oven and pan are heating up, clean your tomatillos by removing their husks and washing off the stickiness. Slice the jalapeno(s) or serrano(s) down the center and remove the seeds depending on how spicy you'd like the resulting salsa. If making the poblano version, slice the poblano peppers in half and remove their seeds as well. Put the tomatillos and peppers into a medium-large bowl and drizzle with oil. Toss everything to coat. Set aside until ready to cook in the oven.
Next, take out your blender and set it aside on the counter with the lid off. If you want to toast your spices (optional), now's the time. Bring a stainless-steel pan to medium heat on your stove top and add the black peppercorns, coriander, and cumin. Move the spices around the pot by shifting it back and forth every 30 seconds or so. Once you can smell the spices, take them off the burner and dump them into your open blender. (See notes)
Add in salt and the middle ⅓ of your cilantro bunch as well as the fresh garlic cloves, rough chopped onion, and lime juice.
Your oven and pan should be properly pre-heated by now. Carefully pull the pan out of the oven and add the prepped peppers and tomatillos onto it. Place it back into the oven and let them roast for 10-15 minutes. Then, turn your oven to broil and let them char for another 2-5 minutes, until the skin on the peppers starts to blister and turn black.
Take the roasted ingredients out of the oven and use tongs to add the tomatillos to the blender. Don't worry if your tomatillos have broken open, we will get to that in a bit. If you want to peel your peppers (also optional, see FAQS for an explanation) place the peppers in a medium bowl and cover it with plastic wrap for 5 minutes.
While the peppers steam, deglaze the roasting pan. Add ¼-⅓ c (60-80ml) water to a small sauce pot and bring it to a boil. Then, pour the water over the browned sections or fond (e.g. tomatillo guts) on the pan. Make sure the pan is cool enough to handle before the next step or use a towel/mitt. Using a spoon, bench scraper, or spatula with a flat edge dissolve and scrape up the fond until the water has turned brown and collected all of the flavor. Pour the pan drippings into the blender.
Next, remove the plastic wrap over the pepper bowl and peel off as much of the pepper skin as possible. Add the peeled peppers to the blender and blend everything together to your desired consistency. If you want to make the third version of salsa verde with avocado, this is where they get added. Slice them in half, remove the pit, and scoop the avocado meat out with a spoon into the blender. Stop when the salsa becomes uniform and creamy. Enjoy!

Notes

Don't worry if you don't want to toast or use whole spices. Just make sure you flavor to your tastes. If you use pre-ground spices, for example, you might need more of each than the recipes lists. For reference, from less to most flavorful it goes, pre-ground < whole, freshly ground < toasted & whole, freshly ground.
My spices are ground when I blend everything in my high-powered blender. If you use an immersion (stick) blender or a food processor, consider blending the spices in a spice or coffee grinder or mortar and pestle after toasting them (before blending into the salsa).
If you can’t find poblano peppers, Anaheim or cubanelle peppers will work too. (Of note: the flavor will be a little different, more acidic and less vegetal)
To help choose between jalapeño and serrano peppers decide on what spice level you'd like in your salsa, jalapeños are mild and serranos are medium.
Notice which part of the cilantro I use. Typically, I use leaves for garnish, middle (softer) stems and leaves for salsas, and the bottom (harder) stems for stocks.

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