Salsa Verde with tomatillos

In 2020, my garden blessed me with a bounty of tomatillos.  Beautiful, big ones!  **You can substitute green tomatoes for the tomatillos.

When you pull the husk back on the tomatillos, they look like small, green tomatoes and are covered by a sticky substance. Just husk and wash, they are ready for chopping and cooking. 

This salsa is terrific as a dipping sauce, and can also be used in chile verde or green posole.

To make approximately three 500ml jars 

Ingredients

4 lbs             tomatillos, husked, washed, and finely chopped 

1 cup            finely chopped onion (about 1 medium onion) 

3 to 4            jalapeño peppers, minced (seeds removed for a milder salsa) 

8 cloves        garlic, minced 

1 tbsp           ground cumin 

2 tsp            sea salt 

½ cup          bottled lime juice 

¼ cup          minced fresh cilantro (I add it just before serving)

Directions:

The KitchenAid dicer makes quick work of dicing the vegetables.  Combine the tomatillos, onion, jalapeños, and garlic in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add the cumin, sea salt, lime juice, and cilantro. 

If you prefer a smoother salsa, you can use an immersion blender to break down some of the salsa at this time. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. 

Taste the salsa and add more salt, cumin, or lime juice if necessary. Ladle the hot salsa into the prepared jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. When the processing time is up, remove the canning pot from the heat and remove the lid. Let the jars sit in the pot for an additional 5 minutes. This helps to prevent the salsa from reacting to the rapid temperature change and bubbling out of the jars.