Cilantro Salsa Verde is surprisingly easy to make at home! This popular dip requires just 3 steps, and is packed with so much more flavor that the jarred stuff.
My husband and I recently moved to the city. It is full of amazing restaurants and a cacophony of noise. We managed to pick an apartment that is within a block of 4 railroad tracks. Let's just say I am still learning to fall asleep to the sound of repeat train horns. I am still keeping my fingers crossed that at some point it switches from annoying to soothing. A new kind of white noise?
The greatest redeeming factor for our train station-centered building, is that every Saturday morning, the local farmers market sets up right on our street. We just walk straight out of the door and into the sunshine soaked farmers market.
This week I snagged a few ingredients that I don't cook with often. There were beautiful tomatillos and boxes full of fresh chilis and I acted like a kid in a candy store. Into my bag they went.
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Once I got home, (which literally took 2 minutes - thank you farmers market!) I started dreaming up some recipes. I knew I wanted to try my hand at making a salsa verde. I thought of flavors that I would like to pair with the tomatillos and peppers, and the idea for this Cilantro Salsa Verde was born!
I fully expected this Cilantro Salsa Verde recipe to be complicated and time intensive, but I am happy to say I was wrong! It's as easy as broiling and blending. The most difficult step is removing the skins of the peppers, but even that can be accomplished in 5 minutes flat.
When you're making this Cilantro Salsa Verde, you'll need to think about your desired spice level. The way to cater the spice to your tastes is by removing all, most, or none of the seeds. The more seeds, the spicier your Cilantro Salsa Verde will be. I personally like a medium salsa, so I scrape out half of the seeds and leave the other half in the salsa.
Another way I love to balance out the flavors is with a dash of honey and a splash of lime. I love a good warm salsa, but I don't love a salsa thats all spice and no flavor. Adding the herbal cilantro, sweet honey, and bright lime ensures that our Cilantro Salsa Verde will be packed with flavor!
One final word of wisdom: don't rub your eves after touching the peppers!
Cilantro Salsa Verde
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Appetizer, side, Snack
- Cuisine: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, paleo, soy-free, sugar-free, vegan, Vegatarian
Description
Cilantro Salsa Verde is surprisingly easy to make at home! This popular dip requires just 3 steps, and is packed with so much more flavor that the jarred stuff.
Ingredients
- 3 large tomatillos (husked and washed)
- 1 Anaheim chili
- 1 onion (peeled and halved)
- 1 sweet cayenne pepper (or a jalapeno)
- 1 serrano pepper
- 1 cup packed cilantro (stems are okay)
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1-2 limes)
- 1 tablespoon honey (agave for vegans)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Move the oven rack to the top position and set your oven to broil.
- After you've removed the husks and washed your tomatillos, score the bottom of the tomatillos with an X to help them cook evenly. Place the tomatillos, scored side up, on a baking tray with the Anaheim chili, onion, cayenne pepper, and serrano pepper. Drizzle them with avocado oil and toss around so they don't stick to the pan and place them into the oven. Broil for 7-10 minutes or until the peppers and tomatillos are looking browned. Remove them from the oven and if the peppers are brown and blistered take them off the tray and set aside. If not, filp all the ingredients and place them back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes or until the tomatillos are very soft.
- Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skins, which should slide right off. If you like hot salsa, add them straight to the blender with their seeds. If you prefer medium salsa, cut the peppers open and remove half of the seeds with a spoon. If you like mild salsa, remove all of the seeds.
- Add all the ingredients into the blender and blend until all the ingredients are broken down and you've reached salsa consistency. Serve.
Thank you