Feeling Mexican Part Uno: Salsa Verde

I had a craving for tomales and Mexican. I had never made tomales before so I thought I would challenge myself. Fortune had it that I had found a store with masa and dried corn husks, so I thought I would try my hand at tomales.

I found a very good recipe online at Epicurious, which I used. The recipe is really two parts: the chicken tomales and the salsa verde. I really bit off more than I could chew on this one. It is a big job making tomales. After my fiancee and I finished, I recall my friend Joseph mentioned that it was really a big family affair, making tomales. Usually reserved for Thanksgiving and New Years, when there are lots of extra hands around to help out! Its very labor intensive, but well worth the effort.


I will write about the salsa verde in this post, and post the tomales in a future post.

To make both the tomales and the salsa verde, you need to find a good Mexican store that will carry dried corn husks and tomatillos, the small green tomatoes that are used for the salsa. I was shopping around Berkeley, and found a lovely family owned Mexican store called Mi Tierra (My Land) that carried them. You really need the tomatillos, they really make this dish! 


Ingredients
1 lbs tomatillos, husked and rinsed
4  3in long serrano chiles, stemmed and chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1.5 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups of rich dark chicken stock
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Preheat the ol' broiler on your oven. Line a heavy baking sheet or pan with aluminum foil. Arrange the tomaillos on the sheet and place them under the broiler. Let them broil away for about 5 minutes. You should get some charred skin on the top. Flip and broil for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to your trusty food processor. Make sure to get all the pieces and all those lovely juices. Add the chilies and the garlic to the processor and blend until it is really smooth. You will see some of the black flakes appear which is fine.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the puree and boil for 5 minutes to let the flavors develop. Stir often so the bottom won't burn. Add your chicken broth. Reduce the heat to medium or medium low, and simmer for about 40 minutes, or until the sauce coats the spoon thickly. Once the sauce has reduced to  about 1 cup, season with salt. Mix in the cilantro.

You can use this for dips. I usually use it when I am making a cheese quesadilla to give it a little bit more zest. I also use this as the base for making tomales.

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