When indulging in Mexican food, the most difficult decision for me ends up being the decision of choosing salsa verde or salsa roja — red sauce or green sauce. On the Scoville scale of pepper heat, Poblanos are on the low end, so they are a safe choice if you want to make a green salsa that’s not super spicy. They deliver a clean pepper flavor and impart a crowd-pleasing, pretty color. This relatively easy salsa is obviously great for dipping with tortilla chips, but it can also serve as a starter for some green enchilada sauce.
 |
 |
The most authentic salsa verde recipes from Mexican home cooks use Mexican oregano. I believe strongly in using the ingredients grown native to whatever region of the cuisine I’m cooking whenever possible because the soil and climate in which herbs and produce is grown affects how it tastes. Most oregano in mainstream grocery stores is Italian (sometimes Greek), but you can find Mexican oregano in smaller Mexican markets.
Look for Mexican oregano at any Mexican grocery store.
For years I tried making salsa verde and two important notes really transformed my recipe … the absence of garlic and presence of just a little sugar. By default many people put garlic in almost everything, but some recipes really don’t need it. Tomatillos are actually a fruit, closely related to a gooseberry and I personally don’t believe garlic goes well with these. The surprising ingredient I was initially reluctant about was adding just a little sugar, which cuts down on the extreme tartness without making the salsa taste sweet … we’re not making candy.
Poblano Salsa Verde
Ingredients for poblano salsa verde
- 6 medium tomatillos
- 1 large white onion
- 2 jalapeño peppers (1 whole, 1 diced)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano, crushed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbs white vinegar
- juice of half a lime
for poblano salsa verde
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
- Peel and quarter tomatillos and white onion, discard the stemmed top of one whole jalapeño pepper (keeping the seeds and inner ribs intact). In a medium bowl, thoroughly coat ingredients with olive oil and season with kosher salt.
- Spread tomatillos, onion and jalapeño pepper evenly in one layer on a shallow baking sheet (preferably lined with aluminum foil for easier clean-up). Roast under broiler until cooked through and skins turn brown and slightly blistered, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, roast poblano pepper over a direct flame on the stovetop until skins are black and charred. Let cool slightly. Cut off both ends of the charred pepper and slice one vertical incision to open the pepper so it lays flat on the counter. Discard the core, seeds, inner ribs, and gently rub off the blackened skins. Slice flesh of poblano into large pieces and set aside.
- In a food processor, combine roasted tomatillo mixture, poblano pepper, cilantro, Mexican oregano, water, sugar and lime juice. Process until desired texture is achieved. Or use a molcajete (aka. a Mexican-style mortar and pestle shown in the featured photo).
- At this point the basic salsa is done and you can season to your liking with more salt and/or or sugar.
Yield: 4 cups
