Tomatillo Salsa

Peeled and washed tomatillos ready for the freezer and cooler weather in which to transform them into canned tomatillo salsa

There really is no better spicy, tart, and tangy salsa than tomatillo salsa. It really would not be a complete season without going into the holidays with at least some of this delightful condiment on hand. My brother-in-law, the biggest foodie I know, swears he could just drink this salsa. My husband and I also cannot get enough and since our girls are not yet fans of spice, the 9 jars made from the ingredients pictured below should last us at least through January.

This year, lacking the space, I bought as many tomatillos as I could at the farmers market in August and then peeled them, cleaned them, and bagged them for the freezer. I pulled these out to thaw the first weekend in November as well as the jalapeños and Serrano peppers that had kept pretty well in the fridge since September. It made for a perfectly cozy day of indoor canning after the weather had cooled. 

I used the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving recipe for tomatillo salsa with some variations: more cilantro and garlic, add ground coriander and ground chipotle chili as the red chili. Each year's version is slightly different. This year's salsa isn't as spicy as I would like but perhaps I have burnt out my taste buds in seasons past. All I can say is it'll do, and the effort was worth the result.

Tomatillo Salsa Ingredients (around the circle from the left to the center):

2 tsp. salt/2 tsp red pepper; 7 tsp. cumin/7 tsp. ground coriander; 1 c. lime juice; 14 cloves of minced garlic; 2 c. chopped cilantro; 2 c. apple cider vinegar; 3 1/2 c. chopped jalapeños and Serrano peppers; 3 1/2 c. chopped onions; 7 lbs. pureed tomatillos. This recipe was adapted from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving.