ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA

The smell of these ingredients roasting in the oven is simply wonderful! Though I prefer a tomato-based salsa for dunking tortilla chips into, this particular salsa screams for scrambled eggs, burritos, tacos and so much more.

Thank you for the recipe, Ruth Reichl / Gourmet Today Cookbook. Recipe listed verbatim (with my two cents added for good measure)

2-3 Serrano chilies (I'm a chicken, and I used 3)
4 garlic cloves with peels intact
2 lbs. (about 12) fresh tomatillos
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (remove all stems)
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
(I used one...two would have been serious overkill)
2 and 1/2 teaspoons of Kosher salt

Tomatillos have a papery husk which must be removed prior to eating. As you peel the husk off, you will notice the tomatillos have a stickiness about them. Believe it or not, a tiny bit of dish soap in a pan of warm water removes that stickiness. Remove the husks, rinse well, and you're good to go. You may remove the bud / stem knob now, or after broiling. It is not necessary to remove the peels of the tomatillos, only the stems and husks.

Preheat an oven broiler. On a large cookie sheet or baking pan lined with foil, place the four cloves of garlic, chilies and tomatillos. Broil 1 to 2 inches from the heat, turning on occasion with a long-handled utensil.

You may have to remove some of the more charred vegetables as they broil - which is a good thing. Allow all of the vegetables to broil, approximately 8 minutes.

If you haven't already done so, coarsely cut up the onion(s). No need to get fancy, they will be blended. Once removed from the oven, carefully peel the garlic and peppers, removing the stems and skins of the chilies. Squeeze out any germ, or growth that may have occurred in the center of the garlic. Sprouts are great, but not in your garlic. Place the roasted tomatillos, garlic, chilies and remaining ingredients (cilantro, onion, salt) in a blender or food processor. This particular salsa, in my opinion, is best pureed and used as a sauce, rather than left chunky as you would in preparing a salsa. 

 This recipe makes just enough for two wide-mouth pint jars, with a bit left over for sampling. Can be served cold, or even better, warmed up before serving with your choice of anything your heart desires. Keep in refrigerator.