what's cooking

My garden was small this year (as it is every year - I'm not much of a gardener) but I've got four extremely prolific tomato plants and one fairly prolific tomatillo.  In fact, I'm not sure that I'll even get to most of the tomatillos: the plant is still full of blossoms and teensy little fruits, and I fear for a frost.  In the meantime, I've harvested tomatillos twice and delved into this cookbook that my little brother gave me about a million years ago, Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Rick Bayless.  I've never used this cookbook 'til now, not having had much access to authentic Mexican-type foods.  Enter the tomatillos!

The first recipe I tried was a chipotle chile sauce, salsa de chiles chipotles.  We've spread it on grilled chicken, grilled pork chops and dunked tortilla chips in it.  It tastes rather strongly of the chipotles, but I don't count that as a negative:

3 medium (4.5 oz.) fresh tomatillos, husked and washed
2 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 canned chipotle chiles, seeded
approx. 1/4 tsp. salt

Set a skillet over medium heat; set the tomatillos in the skillet and turn regularly until soft and blackened in spots.  While the tomatillos are roasting, toast the garlic in the skillet until soft.  Cool garlic, de-skin and chop.  Put the tomatillos, garlic, chipotles and 2 Tbsp. water in food processor and puree.  Scrape into sauce dish, season with salt and stir in a little water to thin slightly.

The other recipe I've done is a quick-cooked tomatillo-chile sauce, salsa verde.  This had a bright flavor and a building burn - very, very tasty.  I poached some chicken breasts and added them to the sauce at the end, and served over rice and with soft flour tortillas.

1 lb. (11 medium) tomatillos, husked and washed (or 2 13-oz canned tomatillos, drained)
fresh hot green chiles to taste (I used 4 serranos; jalapenos work too), stemmed
5 or 6 sprigs of cilantro, roughly chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil or lard
2 cups chicken broth
approx. 1/2 tsp salt

Boil the fresh tomatillos and chiles in salted water to cover, 10-15 minutes; drain. If using canned tomatillos, just drain them.  Place the tomatillos and chiles in food processor with cilantro, onion and garlic.  Puree 'til smooth, leaving some texture.  Heat the oil in a skillet on medium-high.  When hot, pour the puree in and stir constantly for 4-5 minutes until darker and thicker.  Add the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes.  Season to taste with salt.

I don't know how many more meals I'll get out of my little garden, but all the plants have more than paid for themselves.  And I can tell you that I'll be picking up another tomatillo plant from ol' Home Depot next spring for sure.