Pepita-Tomatillo Salsa

Last week I made tacos and a variety of salsas, including one made with roasted pepitas and tomatillos. The pepitas  gave the salsa a slightly nutty flavor. It’s delicious with vegetables, fish, or just as a dip for tortilla chips. It’s also incredibly simple to make. I lightly toasted the pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, in a cast iron pan on the stove. Tomatillos, garlic cloves, and jalapeños were placed in foil with a little olive oil, and roasted in the oven. All of it went into the food processor with some fresh cilantro, additional garlic, lime juice, and a pinch of brown sugar to bring out all of the flavors. Salt to taste, add additional chiles if you’d like to kick up the heat, and enjoy!

tomatillo salsaPepita-Tomatillo Salsa

This is a fairly mild salsa– the roasting of the jalapeños takes away most of their heat. Add additional raw jalapeño or other chiles at the end if you’d like a spicier salsa. Use unsalted pepitas. Or, if you can only find salted, omit any additional salt at the end. 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup of raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
  • Olive oil
  • 5 tomatillos, husks removed
  • 2-3 jalapeños
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • Pinch of brown sugar
  • 1 small bunch of cilantro
Preheat the broiler. Place a skillet over medium heat. Toast the pepitas for two to four minutes. The seeds will pop, and begin to brown.
Place the tomatillos, jalapeños, and five of the garlic cloves in a aluminum foil, and coat with a generous amount of olive oil (about 1/4 cup). Place in the oven and cook for 6-10 minutes, or until the garlic is soft, and the tomatillos and peppers are soft, and slightly charred.
Place the toasted pepitas and broiled tomatillos mixture in the food processor. Add the remaining raw garlic clove, lime juice, brown sugar, and cilantro. Purée
until blended. Salt to taste.
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Category : Food, Mexican, Recipes, Sauce, Vegan, Vegetarian
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