Tomatillos

I was given some Tomatillo plants at the start of summer by a neighbour who had every single seed he planted germinate.

They are productive, but what do I do with the fruits?

The neighbour talked about growing them to make a Mexican style salsa from them, but we don't eat salsa

I've tried one raw, pale green with firm flesh with a vaguely tomato flavour. Not unpleasant but not something I want to add to salads like I do my cherry tomatoes....

suggestions invited

You never put sauce on anything? No rule that says salsas are only for tortilla chips. Great condiment for all meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, starches, etc.

Google will give you plenty of tweaks on the classic tomatillo sauces, standard is blending with onion, garlic, chile, herbs, salt. Infinite tweaks are possible. Tomatillo can be raw or roasted. But then obviously you could come up with many other directions as well.

But no, I don't think they work well in salads like cherry tomatoes!

my personal favorite is Betsy's roasted tomatillo guacamole.
For something more a main, braised chicken thighs in tomatillo and broth is pretty good

[Jenise]

Peter, what everyone else has already said: they're not just for Mexican food, but they're not suited to raw eating either. Pro tip: roasting before use tames the astringency and brings out the sugars.

You never put sauce on anything?

au contraire

Tartare sauce with fish
Mint sauce with lamb
Horseradish sauce with beef
Mustard
HP Sauce
Chilli sauces

but none of the Mexican style salsas I've had made me think that they were something missing from life. If I had, there's plenty available in the supermarket.

For something more a main, braised chicken thighs in tomatillo and broth is pretty good

Like this? https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/101 ... tomatillos

Pro tip: roasting before use tames the astringency and brings out the sugars.

Thanks..

It seems people here mostly use tomatillos for salsa

but none of the Mexican style salsas I've had made me think that they were something missing from life. If I had, there's plenty available in the supermarket.

I never cook with tomatillos and I believe I live a full life, so no, I don't think you're missing anything from life!

But since you have them, it's worth trying to use. And no need to be confined to 'mexican'. Just think of them as a tart tomato and experiment away!

[Jenise]

Tartare sauce with fish
Mint sauce with lamb
Horseradish sauce with beef
Mustard
HP Sauce
Chilli sauces

May I comment? No matter what the label on the jar says, most if not all of these are what I'd call condiments--little flirty accoutrements to put flavor on the side of something plain (and indeed a good Mexican salsa is that, too). What most of us think of when we say 'sauce' is something you build in the pan for a more developed flavor and possibly even braise your meat in, like a gravy.