I don’t know if you remember but last time I went to Trader Joes I bought some tomatillo guacamole and instantly fell in love. I have been determined to re-create this dip/sauce for some time and also wanted to cook with tomatillos. Luckily Price Mart sells these little treasures so last night I made some guac of my own.

When selecting tomatillos make sure they’re a nice green color, not too soft, husk is easily removed and they’re small, no bigger than a golf ball. They do grow larger but become slightly more bitter. The small ones have sweet lemony flavour and are oh so good.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 small fresh tomatillos, husked
  • 1 jalapeño or 2 to 3 Serrano chillies, seeded if desired and roughly chopped
  • 10 cilantro sprigs, plus additional leaves for garnish
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 small or 1 1/2 large ripe avocados
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Preheat the broiler. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place the tomatillos on top, stem side down. Place under the broiler at the highest rack setting and broil two to five minutes, until charred on one side. Turn over and broil on the other side for two to five minutes, until charred on the other side. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender, tipping in any juice that has accumulated on the baking sheet. Add the chillies, cilantro sprigs and salt to the blender and blend to a coarse purée.

Cut the avocados in half and twist the two halves apart. Scoop out the flesh into a bowl or the bowl of a mortar and pestle. Mash with a fork or pestle. Do not use a food processor or a blender, as you want to retain some texture. Stir in the lime juice, the tomatillo mixture and salt to taste and combine well. Serve

I found this recipe online, but it originally came from NY times. I did add one clove of minced garlic and also about a tsp of cumin. This was really delicious and went great with my chicken enchiladas.