dreaming of tomatillos

Tomatillo, originally uploaded by pieceofheaven.

I dream of Tomatillos.....yep that I do.

Every year when we plant our garden I am excited to plant my tomatillo plants. But you can't get them around here...(imagine that...) So when it is gardening time I have to make a trip to Madison. I go to the same nursery every year and they haven't failed me yet.

This year my sister was here from Texas and she went with me to pick them up. I forget how blessed we are here to have the kind of vegetation in Wisconsin that we do. It is easy to walk into a nursery or greenhouse around here and walk out with enough vegetable plants to feed a family of 10 for a year. Everything is beautiful. This year I had to stop my husband at 25 tomato plants because for 2 years in a row he was sure he needed 50!!! Anyone who has ever had a tomato plant knows how insane that was. This was along with his 100 potato plants and everything else in his garden. Have I mentioned he is an overachiever? LOL!

Right now my tomatillos are just coming on. They are so fun to watch grow. The papery shell comes first and then the fruit begins to form inside. Finally as it gets larger and larger it bursts through. The tasted is hard to describe...all I can think of is Fresh...To me it is the perfect taste of summer. This year I plan on canning some Salsa Verde which is basically a green enchilada sauce. I haven't done this yet so I'm excited to see how it turns out.

Here is one of my favorite recipes:

Ingredients:

4 Fresh ears of corn
1/2 pound Tomatillos --papery skin removed and quartered
1 large Sweet red pepper --quartered seeded
1 Jalapeno pepper --seeded finely diced
1 clove Garlic --finely chopped
1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup Olive oil
3 tablespoons White wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Freshly-ground black pepper

Directions:

Prepare the grill. Peel back the corn husk, remove the silk, enclose the corn once again and grill the corn for 4 to 6 minutes over a hot flame. While the corn is roasting, add the tomatillos and red pepper to the grill and quickly char their exterior. Remove everything from the grill and allow to cool. When cool peel back the husk and, using a sharp knife, remove the corn kernels from the cob. Discard the cob. Cut the red pepper into a julienne and combine the corn, tomatillo, red pepper, jalapeno, garlic and cilantro in a bowl. To the bowl, add the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and allow to marinate for several hours before serving.

If I don't want to do them on the grill I just use a pan to brown things in a little olive oil. It works just as well.

Well if you haven't ever tried tomatillos maybe this will make you want to experiment with them. Otherwise one of these days I want to have a salsa party where everyone brings their favorite salsas....Yummy!! You are all invited!!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!!