That’s it, my friends! I hope you enjoy my crazy tomatillo sauce! I love it. Such a great recipe. And so versatile! Let me know how you wind up serving it. Curious minds want to know! Call it an experiment, but I decided to combine my favorite salsa verde recipe with another sauce recipe that I love, a creamy jalapeno sauce, which is a classic Mexican and Tex-Mex recipe. Let’s talk about how to make tomatillo sauce, shall we?
2 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed 3 jalapeno peppers 2-3 serrano peppers (or use 6 jalapenos total to tame the heat) 1 medium red onion 4-6 garlic cloves 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro ¼ cup white wine vinegar Juice from 1 lime 1/2 teaspoon cumin Salt to taste ¼ cup neutral oil, like corn oil, avocado oil, or neutral vegetable oil (or more to taste - olive oil is OK to use, if desired, though it has a stronger flavor)
If you want to use up your green tomatoes, try this green tomato chutney recipe instead. Slice the tomatillos and peppers in half, then set them onto a roasting pan or baking sheet. Slice the onion into thick strips and set them onto the roasting pan, along with the garlic. Roast the tomatillos and other ingredients for 20 minutes, or until the skins char and puff up. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Peel off the skins and discard. Add the tomatillos, peppers, onion and garlic to a food processor or blender along with the cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, cumin and salt. With the blender or food processor running, slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture to let it emulsify to your desired consistency. Beautiful green salsa! It should take about 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken up slightly. Serve as desired! Looks wonderful, doesn’t it? You’ll never want store bought again. When you process with the oil drizzling into the salsa verde, you are essentially emulsifying the mixture until it becomes very creamy. Emulsification is essentially the mixture of 2 or more liquids that normally don’t mix, like oil and vinegar. They don’t mix easily, but with enough whisking force, the mixture forms and becomes creamy, like a balsamic vinaigrette. In that way, it really is much like a salsa verde or tomatillo salsa, and you’ll have a similar flavor profile here, however, you’ll notice how different it is in creaminess and texture, as well as mouth feel and some flavor differences because of the oil.
Pasta Sauce. Toss some cooked noodles and enjoy a verde pasta, like my green spaghetti recipe (spaghetti verde). Dipping Sauce. Serve it alongside pita chips or bread sticks for a party dipping sauce. Salsa. Serve it up with tortilla chips for a different spin on salsa verde. Your guests will be like, “Whoa! What?” Top Your Tacos. This sauce will make your tacos explode with flavor. Grilled Meats. Spoon it over grilled chicken breasts or your favorite grilled flank steak. Carne Asada, anyone? Spruce Up Boring Veggies. Give those blah veggies a flavor kick by tossing them with this sauce. Replace Your Condiments. Try this sauce instead of reaching for your old ketchup bottle.
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H. NOTE: This recipe was updated on 6/2/23 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 10/9/19.
