Salsa Verde (Roasted Tomatillo)
I put salsa verde on pierogi once and my babcia’s spirit left my body for a moment. But then she tasted it. She approves.
Ingredients
- 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed 450g
- 1 jalapeno or 2 serrano peppers
- 1/2 large onion, quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Salt
Method
Roast
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Place tomatillos, jalapeno, onion quarters, and garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Broil 5-7 minutes until charred and blistered, then flip and broil another 3-5 minutes. The charring is what makes roasted salsa verde taste deeper and more complex than raw. The tomatillos will soften and release juice — this is good. That juice is flavour.
Blend
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Peel the roasted garlic. Remove the jalapeno stem (leave seeds for more heat, remove for less). Transfer everything — charred tomatillos, jalapeno, onion, garlic, all the juices from the pan — into a blender. Add cilantro, lime juice, cumin, and salt. Pulse until you reach your preferred consistency: smooth for enchilada sauce, slightly chunky for a dipping salsa. Taste and adjust: more lime for tang, more salt for depth, more jalapeno for heat.
Salsa Verde — Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
I put salsa verde on pierogi once and my babcia’s spirit left my body for a moment. But then she tasted it. She approves.
Salsa verde — tangy, bright, slightly spicy sauce made from roasted tomatillos — is one of the most versatile sauces in Mexican cooking. It goes on enchiladas, tacos, eggs, grilled meat, rice, and — in the Polish Mom kitchen — on pierogi. The roasted tomatillos have a tart, citrusy flavour that cuts through richness the same way Polish sour cream does. When I drizzled salsa verde over potato-cheese pierogi, the acidity and gentle heat complemented the creamy filling in a way that felt both completely foreign and completely natural. It was the ultimate fusion moment — the recipe that proved to me that Polish food and Mexican food belong on the same table.
What Are Tomatillos
Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes wrapped in papery husks. They’re not unripe tomatoes — they’re a different fruit entirely, more tart and citrusy. They’re available year-round in most grocery stores, usually near the peppers and tomatoes. Peel off the husk, rinse (they’re slightly sticky underneath), and they’re ready to roast. If you’ve never cooked with tomatillos, this recipe is the perfect introduction — it’s simple, fast, and the result is so good you’ll wonder why you didn’t discover them sooner.
Ingredients
- • 1 pound (450g) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- • 1 jalapeno (or 2 serrano peppers)
- • 1/2 large onion, quartered
- • 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- • Juice of 1 lime
- • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- • Salt
How to Make It
Roast
Place tomatillos, jalapeno, onion quarters, and garlic cloves on a baking sheet. Broil 5-7 minutes until charred and blistered, then flip and broil another 3-5 minutes. The charring is what makes roasted salsa verde taste deeper and more complex than raw. The tomatillos will soften and release juice — this is good. That juice is flavour.
Blend
Peel the roasted garlic. Remove the jalapeno stem (leave seeds for more heat, remove for less). Transfer everything — charred tomatillos, jalapeno, onion, garlic, all the juices from the pan — into a blender. Add cilantro, lime juice, cumin, and salt. Pulse until you reach your preferred consistency: smooth for enchilada sauce, slightly chunky for a dipping salsa. Taste and adjust: more lime for tang, more salt for depth, more jalapeno for heat.
The Pierogi Moment
I need to tell the full story. It was a Thursday. I’d made pierogi (potato-cheese, classic) and had leftover salsa verde in the fridge from taco Tuesday. I was too tired to make sour cream sauce, so I grabbed the salsa verde and drizzled it over the pan-fried pierogi on a whim. The tart, bright tomatillo flavour against the creamy, buttery potato-cheese filling was — I’m not exaggerating — one of the best flavour combinations I’ve accidentally discovered. The acidity cut through the richness. The gentle heat from the jalapeno added dimension. It worked the way sour cream works, but with more complexity and a completely different cultural vibe.
I served pierogi with salsa verde at a dinner party the following week. Half the table was Polish, half was Mexican. The Polish contingent looked sceptical. The Mexican contingent looked intrigued. After one bite, both sides agreed: this works. My babcia — who I like to imagine watches my kitchen experiments from wherever she is — would have been suspicious for about 10 seconds and then eaten three more. Because babcia always ate more when the food was good, regardless of how foreign it looked.
Uses for Salsa Verde
• Green enchiladas: Pour over enchiladas instead of the creamy sauce for a tangier version
• On eggs: Drizzle over fried eggs for a Mexican-style breakfast that beats ketchup
• On carne asada: The classic pairing — tangy salsa verde on charred beef
• On pierogi: The Polish Mom signature. Tart, bright, and unexpectedly perfect.
• As chip dip: With tortilla chips at any gathering. It’ll be the first dip to empty.
Tips
💡 Pro Tips
✓ Roast, don’t boil. Boiled tomatillos make a flatter, one-dimensional salsa. Roasting/broiling adds caramelisation and smokiness.
✓ Save the pan juices. When roasting, the tomatillos release liquid. Pour ALL of that into the blender. It’s concentrated flavour.
✓ Adjust heat with the jalapeno. Seeds and membrane = more heat. Remove both for mild. For Polish kids who think pepper is spicy, remove everything and add a tiny bit at a time.
✓ Fresh cilantro makes a difference. Dried cilantro is a different herb entirely. Fresh is essential here.
How to Store
Fridge for 7-10 days in a sealed jar. Freezes for 3 months in portions. I make a double batch every two weeks and keep it in the fridge as a universal condiment — it goes on everything. Having salsa verde on hand is like having sour cream on hand in a Polish kitchen: essential infrastructure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use canned tomatillos?
In a pinch, yes — drain them and blend with the other ingredients. You’ll miss the roasted depth, but the base flavour still works. Fresh roasted is significantly better and worth the 15-minute effort.
Is salsa verde spicy?
With one jalapeno (seeds removed), it’s mild-medium. Tomatillos themselves aren’t spicy — they’re tart. The heat comes entirely from the pepper, which you control. My kids eat the mild version on chips. I add a serrano pepper to mine because Polish Mom needs her heat.
Can I make salsa verde with green tomatoes instead of tomatillos?
Green tomatoes (unripe red tomatoes) are different from tomatillos in flavour — they’re more acidic and less fruity. You can use them in a pinch, but the result will taste more like a tangy tomato sauce than a traditional salsa verde. Tomatillos have a unique, slightly citrusy tartness that green tomatoes can’t replicate. If your grocery store doesn’t carry tomatillos, check Latin markets or the canned goods aisle for canned tomatillos as a backup. But fresh roasted is always worth the search — and once you find them, you’ll spot them everywhere you didn’t look before. Funny how that works.