From How to Grill by Steven Raichlen

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh tomatillos, husked
  • 1/2 medium white onion, cut in half again
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 3 to 5 serrano chiles or jalapeno peppers, seeded (for a hotter salsa, leave the seeds in)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp sugar, or more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp coarse salt, or more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 to 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock or water

Directions

  1. Heat a medium-size heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Place tomatillos in the skillet and cook until lightly browned on all sides, turning with tongs, 6 to 8 minutes.
  2. Add onion, garlic, and chiles to the pan and roast until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes for the onion, 4 to 6 minutes for chiles and garlic. (Alternately, direct grill veggies over a hot fire)
  3. Place roasted vegetables in a food processor with the cilantro, sugar, salt, and pepper and process to a coarse puree. Add stock or water as needed to obtain a pourable sauce.
  4. Transfer this mixture to a nonreactive saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until thick and rickly flavored, 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding salt or sugar as necessary.

This is great with chips or on tacos. It also makes a wonderful slow cooker sauce. For shredded beef tacos, cook a not-so-lean cut of beef with this sauce in the slow cooker, on low about 8 hours. Shred, and serve with flour tortillas and the usual taco trimmings.