This spicy green salsa is not your typical Salsa Verde usually made with tomatillos, but I find that their cousin the green tomato makes for an amazing flavorful and tangy sauce. Zesty and sweet, this salsa delivers a well-rounded balance of deep flavor and heat. Quick and easy to make, this recipe is a great way to make good use of some of your unripened tomatoes as well as delicious Fried Green Tomatoes.
Here in the mile-high city we have been experiencing a long and beautiful fall this year , however recently the night temps have dropped leaving me with an abundance of unripened tomatoes. I have already been through one round of covering my plant to protect it from the cold but the inevitable is at hand. Winter will soon be arriving, and it is time to let the garden go.
Tomatoes cease to ripen with the temps fall below 50 degrees, however there is no reason to give up on the green fruit. A tomato that has some blush or beginning of color will typically ripen in about 7 days in a warm environment, while tomatoes that are completely green can take up to 14 days. Green tomatoes can be wrapped in newspaper or placed in a bag with an apple or banana to speed up the process.
- 3-4 pounds green tomatoes stems removed and halved
- 1 red onion medium-sized peeled and quartered
- 1 yellow onion medium-sized peeled and quartered
- 2 Hatch chilies or Anneheims
- 2 jalapeno
- 1 Serrano pepper
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- Juice of one fresh lime
- Salt to taste
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Heat oven to 475 degrees F (use convection if you have it).
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Light brush the bottom of a roasting pan with olive oil. Place tomatoes cut side down and brush with oil. Roast for 15 – 20 minutes or until tomatoes take on some roasted color.
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In a second pan prepare onions, peppers, and garlic for roasting in the same manner as the tomatoes, lightly coating with oil. Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Check the garlic after about 10 minutes and remove if soft and lightly browned. Continue roasting onions and peppers until the skin of the peppers is slightly blistered.
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Set everything aside and allow to cool.
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Place roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions and lime juice in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Cut the tops off of the peppers and peel the skin (you might consider wearing gloves). Cut in half and remove seeds if desired (remember seeds add heat, I kept mine). Rough chop peppers and add to the processor along with the cilantro. Pulse to combine. Add salt to taste.
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Store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to six weeks, or seal in jars and process in a water bath according to safe canning procedures.
I use the greenest of the green tomatoes since they take the longest to ripen. There is no need to peel the tomatoes or peppers, however I do prefer to peel the peppers. I like heat, so I add the pepper seeds but you can always omit them. Feel free to add or reduce the amount of peppers you use.
