Tomatillo

You’ve seen them in the produce section. Those little, green, tomato-looking fruits in their own little jackets. But have you tasted them, or cooked with them, or explored their many uses?

Did you know that the Common Ground garden tomatillo crop is flourishing? Being culinarily challenged, I had my first tomatillo experience this week. The guys let me taste one and sent me home with a bag full of them. Yay! Now…what do I do with them?

Did you know that tomatillos are a main ingredient in salsa verde? According to my expert staff at Google, tomatillos are the verde in salsa verde. Who’d a thought it? Of course, you probably knew that! Did you know tomatillos may have been mentioned in ancient Aztec writings? You can even make marmalade from them!  Basically, you can use tomatillos is most recipes that call for tomatoes, just be aware that they have more “zing” than tomatoes and a crisper texture. Some folks like them in stew, and I actually enjoyed chomping on them raw.

Why all the enthusiasm about tomatillos? They were a new discovery for me. You may know all about  tomatillos, but maybe we’re growing something you’ve never tried before. Why not pop down to the Common Ground garden and see what you can find?  And, just for fun, take home a bag of tomatillos.

For all you tomatillo experts out there…what are your favorite recipes? We’d love for you to share them with us in the comment section.