Did you know that in order to grow tomatillo’s you have have two plants? They cannot bear fruit without each other. In other words they are not self-pollinators unlike they’re cousins the tomato. Bees help tomatoes. The tomatillo has to have help from its own kind. I know this fact because my plant wasn’t producing fruit within the husks. The moment I discovered this, I ran to the nursery, bought another one and quickly planted it in the pouring rain. It worked!
I find this fact inspiring. I think that these plants need one another to grow much like people. In order to be productive, you need others to inspire you and possibly grow new ideas. Teamwork to some degree. The power of the pair. Just two people can get more done than one, if it’s the right pairing. Maybe that saying two heads are better than one is true in so many ways. Just look at the tomatillo plant. They depend on each other to produce.
CHARRED TOMATILLO SALSA
(ADAPTED FROM THE WHOLE 30 COOKBOOK:150 DELICIOUS
COMPLIANT RECIPES)
Hands down this is my go to homemade salsa recipe. I generally add more dried red pepper flakes for the kick. This doesn’t last long in our house as my husband powers through it in one sitting.
Ingredients:
3 clove garlic, unpeeled
4 tomatillos, husked, rinsed and dried
1 med. poblano chile, stemmed, seeded and quartered
1/2 small onion, cut into thin wedges
2 TBSP. snipped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley (for those who don’t like Cilantro)
1 TBSP. fresh lime juice
1/2 TSP. coarse salt
1/4 TSP ground cumin
1/4 TSP ground coriander (I know it’s cilantro!)
Instructions:
-Preheat the broiler.
-Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil.
-Place packet on a rack in the lower third of the oven.
-Adjust the top oven rack to 4 or 5 inches from broiler.
-Line a baking pan with foil and combine the tomatillos, poblano and onion on the pan. Place the pan on the top oven rack and broil for 8-10 minutes, turning tomatillos once or twice, until the tomatillos and poblano skins are charred.
-Place the pan on a wire rack. Bring the foil up and around vegetables to fully enclose them. Let stand until cool.
-Change the oven setting to 400 degrees F.
-Roast garlic for 10 minutes more, then set on a wire rack to cool.
-Using a sharp knife, peel the skin off the cooled poblano quarters.
-Peel the cooled garlic.
-In a food processor, combine the poblano, tomatillos, onion and garlic. Pulse until finally chopped.
-Transfer to a container add cilantro or parsley, lime juice, salt, cumin and coriander. Store in fridge for weeks, unless your husband devours it in two 2 days.
FOOD.FITNESS.FUN 