Green salsas run the gamut on Mexico City streets. They can be boiled, pea green and soupy; they can be charred and thick and flecked with blackened bits of tomatillo. They can also be astonishingly hot, which is why it’s always good to ask the street vendor, “Cuál salsa pica más?” (Which salsa is hotter?) This version from Eat Mexico: Recipes From Mexico City’s Streets, Markets & Fondas by Lesley Tellez, is a raw, acidic, chunky puree that slices through anything fatty like slow-cooked pork, any crispy tacos, eggs, and almost anything else.
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Raw Tomatillo Salsa
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
This green salsa from Eat Mexico: Recipes From Mexico City’s Streets, Markets & Fondas by Lesley Tellez, is a raw, acidic, chunky puree that slices through anything fatty; I like to serve it with slow-cooked pork, any crispy taco, over eggs, and almost anything else.
Ingredients
9 fresh árbol chiles or 4 to 5 Serrano chiles
1 large garlic clove, peeled
10 ounces tomatillos, husked and rinsed (see below)
2 tablespoons cold water
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons diced onion
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, or more to taste
Juice of ½ a large lime, optional
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
½ medium Hass avocado, diced, optional
Instructions
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Chop the chiles and garlic roughly, and place in a blender jar. Blitz until mostly chopped.
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Cut the tomatillos in half and add to the blender jar with the water. Liquefy until the salsa transforms into a thick, chunky sauce.
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Pour into a bowl and stir in the onion and cilantro. Taste and see if you like it as is, or if you’d prefer more acidity or salt. If so, add the lime juice and taste again. Then stir in the salt and taste one more time, adding more salt, if necessary. Top with the avocado, if using, just before serving. Salsa (minus the avocado) keeps for about a week in a sealed container in the fridge.
VARIATION: To make another version of green salsa that’s typical of street stands, blend the avocado with the onion and cilantro. Then taste for lime juice and salt, and blend again.
