It’s Canning Season!

I finally was able to pick some tomatillos.  I’ve been picking them over the last few weeks, as some turned yellow and some split their husks, which are both signs that the tomatillos are ready.  The one thing I will say though, is that they’ve been on the small side.  I’m sure this is a direct result of being in a pot.  I would love to see how they do when planted in the ground- I bet the plants are massive and very prolific.  But as I’ve been picking them I’ve been popping them into a bag in the fridge, just waiting to have 2 pounds of tomatillos at my disposal. Here is a picture to the left here of the tomatillos.  Surely you’ve seen these before in the market and thought to yourself “what does one do with that?”  Well, here it is.  Use the tomatillos to make salsa- or they also make a fantastic green sauce for stewing meat or enchiladas in. I was so excited to that that 2 pound mark the other day, and immediately set to work making my first Tomatillo Salsa for canning.

This could really not have been easier.  The toughest part was cleaning the tomatillos. The husks needed to be removed, and then the tomatillos washed to remove the sticky residue that they have.  Then these were chopped finely before being thrown into a pot.  From there though, it was a piece of cake.  I added two onions, a handful of chiles from the garden, cilantro, spices, vinegar and lime juice, and in no time, I had a zesty green salsa bubbling away.  I did have to cook mine longer than the recipe indicated, as I found it to be very watery- so I doubled the 10 minutes called for and simmered for 20.  It probably could have used more, but since no thickener like tomato paste is used, it’s going to be a touch watery anyways. After that it was a matter of pouring into jars and processing for just 15 minutes, and I had five little half-pints of Tomatillo Salsa.

I did manage to leave a little out which I sampled later with some chips, and it’s exactly what I wanted.  A touch spicy, a touch tangy, and so full of flavor!  I love my green salsa!  I have plenty more tomatillos growing outside, so hopefully I’ll have enough for a few more batches of salsa, plus I’ll be sharing some of these tangy delicious green orbs with friends who may very well be growing some themselves next year! Here is the recipe below.  Don’t be intimidated by the canning process, it’s easier than it sounds.  Don’t take my word for it though, click on over to this post from Tigers & Strawberries for another version of Tomatillo Salsa, as well as great words of encouragement about canning.

Tomatillo Salsa