Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce
Use this lovely green sauce to top your favorite enchiladas - beef, chicken, bean, anything you like!
Special Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh tomatillos
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 serrano chiles or substitute: 2 jalapeños
- ½ cup to 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves see note
- ¼ cup white or yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt or to taste
- 1 Tbsp oil olive, peanut, or avocado work well
Instructions
- Remove the husks from the tomatillos (husks will not be used and are not edible; those can go into the compost bin or trash).
- Rinse the tomatillos in cold water. They will be sticky under the husks. (This is a sign of healthy tomatillos and is completely normal.)
- Place the tomatillos and garlic cloves in a pot and cover with water. Place over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.
- Simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until tomatillos change their color from bright to pale green, are cooked through, and are soft but not coming apart.
- CAREFULLY place the tomatillos, garlic and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid in a blender and puree. (you may need to let the tomatillos cool down a bit or use a blender lid with a hole in the top to let out the heat; hot things in blenders tend to be dangerous so use good judgement!)
- Add the chiles, cilantro leaves, onion, and salt to the blender. Puree again until smooth.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pot over medium-high heat until it is hot but not smoking.
- Carefully pour in the sauce and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer over medium heat for about 6 minutes, until it thickens and deepens in color. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
Notes
Cilantro - Use 1/2 cup if you hate cilantro and 1 full cup if you like it. I am personally a cilantro hater. However, I have tried this recipe without it, and it just isn't as good. I wear gloves to avoid touching it with my hands; this is one of the rare times I will willingly and purposely eat cilantro. The tomatillos make it better. I encourage you to be brave and embrace the food adventure, and you may be happily surprised like I was.
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