Cooking & Canning: Salsa Verde (green sauce)

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This recipe comes from a family friend. She and her Hispanic husband operate an authentic Mexican restaurant. This is their delicious recipe for authentic Mexican Salsa Verde (green sauce).

Salsa Verde Recipe:
Tomatillos (green husk Mexican tomatoes)
Jalapenos
Cilantro
Garlic
Onion
Salt
Water

(This recipe is not exact. You can vary it depending upon how many tomatillos you have on hand. I recommend growing your own. They are incredibly easy and rewarding to grow! No bugs or animals bother them because they are enclosed in a husk!)

(You can tell when tomatillos are ready to pick when the husk has filled in and the bottom has started to open, as pictured above.)

Remove the husk and wash tomatillos. Put all into a large stock pot. Next wash and stem your jalapenos and toss them in whole. How many? This depends upon how spicy you want the salsa verde to be. To create a more mild salsa, try this proportion: 1 jalapeno for every 6 tomatillos. Want it hotter? Simply add more jalapenos. You can also add more jalapenos at the end of the cooking, so don't feel the need to add them all now.



Next, add a bit of water. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pot with a couple inches of water so the tomatillos don't stick and burn. Cook the jalapenos and tomatillos until the tomatillos are soft.



Then we puree the mixture. You can use a food processor, blender, or my favorite tool - a stick immersion blender. Blend until smooth. If you need more water to help it blend, add a little bit at a time. Don't overdo the water or your salsa will be very thin.


Next, add the garlic (try 1 clove per 6 tomatillos or so - again, it's up to you). Then add some onion. Perhaps a quarter of an onion for every 6 tomatillos. Lastly, add some cilantro. Everything in this recipe came from my garden. Since cilantro is ready months before the tomatillos, I freeze mine in cubes (a link to my tutorial). Here is where I pull out my frozen cilantro and put it to use.



Now, pull out your blender and puree it all again.

Lastly, salt to taste. While you're tasting it... is it spicy enough? If you want it hotter, just add more jalapenos and keep pureeing.

That's it!

Now, you can enjoy this fresh or take it one step further and can it.

Don't know how to can? That's okay, I'll show you!

To can the salsa, you'll need:

Quart or pint- sized canning jars
Screw bands
Seals (lids) - you'll need to buy new ones (everything else can be used over)
Water bath canner (if you don't have one you can use a stock pot with a towel in the bottom of the water)
Paper towel

Wash your jars with hot soapy water and rinse well.

When canning, you want everything to be clean, hot, and sterile. So, I keep the canning jars (upside down), lids, and bands hot in a pan filled with an inch of boiling (simmering) water.


Bring the salsa up to a boil and keep it simmering during the canning process.

Take one of the jars from the pan. Turn it right side up. I use a canning funnel to help direct all the sauce into the jar. Fill the jar up, leaving about 1/2 inch headspace. (Headspace means how much room is left from the top rim of the jar to where the food is. If you have the jar filled too high, it may expand and burst the seal. If it's not full enough, it may not seal either.)



After the jar is filled, wipe the rim off with a paper towel. You want to make sure there is no food on the top of the rim, as this will prevent it from sealing.



Next, take a hot seal from the pan. Place it on top of the jar.



Then, take a hot band from the pan. Screw it on tightly.


Once you have enough jars ready to fill your water bath canner (mine holds 7), place them in.



Your water bath canner should already be boiling. Put the jars into the boiling water (the water should cover the tops by an inch), put the lid on, and let them boil for 20 minutes. This kills any bacteria that may be present inside.



After 20 minutes, remove the jars from the water bath. You can buy a neat tool - canning tongs - used to grab the jars out of the boiling water.



Let them cool. Then label them (I simply write with permanent marker on the top of the seal). Write the contents and date.

These will be fine to use for a few years!

Next... if the ingredients came from your own garden, you're not finished! Repeat until you're out of tomatillos & jalapenos. Then take a minute ... wondering why you do this every year. Until January, when you are enjoying all the summer-canned food - then you remember why!



Note: All foods are canned differently. Always consult a canning cookbook for recipes, how-to, and water bath timing. Some foods (fresh vegetables) require pressure canning. It is worth a few dollars (or cents - check garage sales) to buy a canning cookbook to have on hand. Happy canning!



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