Restaurant-style Salsa Verde Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound tomatillos
• 1/4 medium white onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3-4 serrano peppers
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Vegetable oil (optional)

Char Everything

Heat a comal or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. No oil – you want dry heat.

Put the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and serranos directly on the hot surface. Let them char – really blacken them. Don’t move them around too much.

The garlic finishes first, ~5 minutes. Pull it when it’s charred, trim the root end, and set aside.

The peppers and tomatillos need ~10-15 minutes. Once charred, toss them in a plastic bag to steam – this softens them up.

The onion takes about the same time. Char all sides, then set aside.

Make the Base

In your food processor or blender, add the charred garlic and salt. Pulse for ~30 seconds until you have a loose paste. This distributes the garlic better than just dumping it in whole.

Blend the Salsa

Add the charred tomatillos, peppers, onion, and cilantro to the garlic paste.

For smooth salsa: process 1-2 minutes. For chunky: pulse ~30 seconds.

I like mine somewhere in between – mostly smooth with some texture.

Fry the Salsa (Worth It)

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pot over medium-high heat.

Pour in the salsa – it’ll bubble and splatter, so watch out. Cook for ~10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The salsa darkens and the flavors meld together. Raw salsa verde is good, cooked is better.

Cool and Store

Transfer to a container and refrigerate until cool.

Keeps for about a week in the fridge. The heat mellows out after a day or two if it’s too spicy at first.

This also freezes well – portion it into ice cube trays for easy defrosting.

Restaurant-style Salsa Verde

This is the green salsa I put on everything – tacos, eggs, grilled chicken, chips. Charring the vegetables on a dry skillet gives it that smoky flavor you can't get from boiling them. Way better than the jarred stuff and it keeps for a week in the fridge.

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Cooling Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

• ▢ 3/4 pound tomatillos
• ▢ 1/4 medium white onion
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic
• ▢ 3-4 serrano peppers
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ Vegetable oil optional

Instructions

• Heat dry cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
• Char tomatillos, onion, garlic, and serranos until blackened, turning occasionally.
• Remove garlic after 5 minutes when charred, trim root end.
• Continue charring peppers and tomatillos 10-15 minutes, then place in plastic bag to steam.
• Char onion 10-15 minutes until blackened on all sides.
• Blend charred garlic with salt in food processor for 30 seconds until paste forms.
• Add charred tomatillos, peppers, onion, and cilantro to processor.
• Blend 1-2 minutes for smooth consistency.
• Heat 2 tsp oil in pot over medium-high heat.
• Add salsa, cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Cool completely before transferring to container.
• Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.