Recipes The Basics

I am so happy to have stumbled upon your blog. I have been relentlessly searching the internet for the kind of salsa verde that I have grown up with here in Texas. Your recipe is exactly what I have been looking for.
I am also enjoying your other entries. Thank you!

So glad Waverly. It is my pleasure!! Let me know if there is anything specific you are looking for and I will try to post about it...

I am so glad that I have found you on TV. Thank you for the green salsa receipe. I tried it, and it came out so delicious. I made the salsa with pork chops (chopped in small pieces) and my husband loved it. Great and easy receipe!

Pati, can you give me some receipes from the state of Zacatecas. Mainly from a little town called Juchipila. I am interested because that is where my mother and father were born and raised. I am sorry to say that I never learned to cook like my mother, and now she is gone and I will never have a chance to learn. Can you help me?

Mary

Hey Mary,
I'm so glad you found me too! Of course I'll give you recipes from Zacatecas! My family and I were just there, and I just love the food from there too. And I will try to post some recipes from there, meanwhile, you can look for recipes in Los Sabores de la Tierra. It's a book in Spanish that focuses on the food from Zacatecas- I hope you enjoy it. I really fell in love with that place, its people, and most of all, its food!

I'm wondering why it is that tomatillos alway result in a bitter salsa. Could it be because I''m over cooking them? Thank you

Hi Alicia, when you buy tomatillos they should be firm with a shiny, deep green color (once you wash off their wax). And they should give you salsa a tangy flavor, without being bitter! I don't believe you are overcooking them, it may have just been that batch of tomatillos.

I was in a mexican restaurant that served "hot sauce" with the meal. This came in a small jar. I have been trying to make my own. I am using roasted poblanos, tomatos, onion, garlic and peppers...all blended in a food processor. It is thicker than the sauce at the restaurant. Otherwise quite good! Any suggestions?

Hola Martha, you know there are so many salsas you can't really go wrong! Here is a link to my recipe for Salsa Verde: http://patismexicantable.com/2009/04/cooked-salsa-verde.html
Enjoy!

Hola, Martha,

The secret I have found to ensuring that your salsa verde does not become bitter is to prevent the tomatillo seeds from being broken or blended. If you use a blender, just give it a quick whirl but don't blend it to death.

Maybe Pati can comment? Gracias para tu blog, Pati! Me gusta ;)

Hi Katey, Hi Martha, I've found that it mostly depends on the tomatillos themselves. If they are ripe, shinny, green they are deliciously tart but not bitter. If you have tomatillos that are on the yellow side, are old, over ripe, wrinkled... salsa will be bitter ; )

Hi, I just made this recipe today and it is delicious! Now I look forward to your cookbook! Thanks.

Hola Pati
I had a queston about your Cooked Salsa Verde: Why you use 2 T of oil? Yes, I know that the oil give anything more of a sheen. But in these days of trying to use less fat in our diets. Is the oil optional? Gracias, John

Hola John, Thank you for your question. The oil seasons the sauce and adds to the overall flavor. Actually, safflower oil is "good" fat and very healthy. It is sourced from a plant and not manipulated into hydrogenated bad fats like other commonly used oils. So, if you want to keep the oil in the recipe it will be still be healthy. If you do not want to use any oil, it can be optional. The salsa may just taste a little different than the original recipe. I hope this helps! :)