Whitney's Tomatillo Salsa

We have these awesome friends that live two doors down from us - Johnny and Whitney and their baby, Tyler. We frequently go to one another's house and share whatever happens to be cooking, usually at the spur of the moment. It usually involves a beverage or two, lots of laughing and taking turns playing Guitar Hero on the Wii.

Anyway, last weekend, they called us over to crack open their newly-acquired bottle of Herradura Tequila for some frozen margaritas. Since it's about 1000° here in North Carolina this summer, the prospect of very cold drinks made with excellent tequila meant that it took me all of a nanosecond to gather up the kids and head over there.

So the margaritas were divine, of course, but what was equally yummy was this humble little bowl of green tomatillo salsa. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am in the middle of a tomatillo kick anyway, but this was REALLY good. And since Whitney is a working mom, she's pretty much already mastered the art of the quick-and-easy-but-still-tasty meal, so I asked her to share her recipe. So here it is for all to enjoy:

1 lb. tomatillos - remove the papery outer layer
1 white onion - quartered
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapeño peppers (remove the seeds)
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of cumin
1/2 lime - juiced

Roast the first 4 ingredients in the oven at 400° for 15 minutes. When roasted, put all of the ingredients together in a food processor until mixed together. Pour into a bowl and serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

A word about Tomatillos:
They're funny-looking cousins of the tomato that we all know and love, and these have a green and have a papery outer layer. When you cook with them, just make sure to remove the papery outer layer. Our local Harris-Teeter carries them sometimes, and almost all of our local hispanic bodegas or grocery stores always have them.

My all-time favorite hispanic grocery is Compare Foods in Durham (it's part of a small chain, so look them up on the Web). The Durham store is big, clean and well-stocked with wide aisles. I can spend hours there browsing the various foods from all around Latin America and the Caribbean - literally dozens of types of chiles, tomatillos (of course), bottled sodas made with cane sugar (not corn syrup) and even a chipotle mayonnaise that McCormick's makes in Mexico. Compare is on Roxboro Road just north of I-85, set back from the street on the right side heading north. Once you spot it, you'll be surprised how big it is.

Try this Tomatillo Salsa recipe and I'll share your comments with Whitney. Enjoy!