You say tomato, I say tomatillo

The first time I ever heard of a tomatillo was from Bobby Flay on his Hot Off the Grill show (remember that one?) He made fish with tomatillo sauce, and at first I thought I could simply interchange it with good old regular tomatoes- then I decided to do some research.

Tomatillos are related to tomatoes. They’re called tomate verde in Mexico (literally, green tomato) and- here’s where they differ enormously from tomatoes- they have husks. You know, like corn husks. Only not. For this reason, they’re also called husk tomatoes.

These babies have a sweet slash tart flavor, and are a bit fruity. They’re particularly awesome in sauces and salsas- you’ll be surprised at what a difference they make from using regular tomatoes- but are also wonderful just grilled or roasted, sprinkled with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt.

Finally, let me leave you with a quick recipe for delicious Tomatillo Salsa:

Crush two cloves of garlic with a teaspoon of kosher salt. To this, add a coarsely chopped yellow onion, some chopped serrano chiles to taste (if you want it mild, remove the seeds before chopping), and around four to six large tomatillos which have been roughly chopped. Mix in some chopped cilantro to taste, and cubes of avocado if you wish.