Cassie’s Ruminations

Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa

This is another great recipe from The Border Cookbook : Authentic Home Cooking of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico. I omitted the cilantro called for in the recipe, grated my onion instead of chopping, and poured the whole lot in my blender to get a nice smooth sauce. We tried this with a few chips tonight, and greatly enjoyed it. We’ll be having it with chimichangas in a couple nights. The cookbook also recommends a very similar sauce with grilled chicken, and we might try that too.

Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa
Makes about 3 cups

1 pound tomatillos (about 10 medium)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small sweet onion
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp kosher salt

Preheat the broiler in the oven to high and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Husk the tomatillos and cut them in half longitudinally. Place them cut side down on the baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes or until the skins are browning well.

While the tomatillos are cooking, grate the onion. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft and just barely starting to brown. Mince the chipotles and add them to the skillet. Stir to combine.

Remove the tomatillos from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and cover loosely, placing a dish towel over the top. Holding down the lid with the towel in place, pluse the blender 10 times then turn onto a low setting for 15 seconds to puree the mixture. Pour into a serving dish and serve warm or refrigerate and serve chilled.