This Habanero Tomatillo Salsa is excellent with steak, chicken, fish, tacos, tostadas, burritos and even tortilla chips if you’re daring enough. Excellent salsa!
This Habanero Tomatillo Salsa has simple ingredients and is very easy to make.
However, let me forewarn you my foodie friends, if you do not like spicy salsas, maybe you should not make this one 🙂 As for me though, I do truly enjoy having
some spice and heat in my food but also not where it is so overpowering that I will not enjoy or taste my dish.
Surprisingly, this salsa for me is not overpowering and a little of it goes a long way!
I find this salsa perfect for steak, fish and chicken. Of course you can also choose to enjoy it with some tortilla chips if you’re a little daring!
Tomatillos
Tomatillos, originated in Mexico and were cultivated in the Pre Columbian Era. They are known as the Mexican husk tomato because of its outer husk and are a true staple in Mexican cooking.
They are used raw or cooked in a variety of dishes especially in salsa verde.
Interestingly enough, tomatillos keep well refrigerated for two weeks and freeze well kept whole.
Check out my Chilaquiles Verde with Chicken recipe made with tomatillos. One recipe that will certainly not disappoint you.
Habanero Pepper
Habanero peppers are extremely hot and were once the hottest pepper in the world ranging at 100,000 to 350,000 units on the Scoville Scale. Today they are a little further down the Scoville Scale and the Carolina Reaper holds the title of the hottest pepper in the world at 2,200,000 SHU!
Unripe habaneros are green but come in a variey of colors, from orange, red, white, yellow, brown and even purple. They are believe to have originated in Mexico and currently grow in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Columbia and also in some parts of the states, Idaho, Texas and California. However, today the largest producer of habaneros is in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Today I also made Roasted Poblano Tacos and added this salsa to them and it just made my tacos that much more delicious…look for recipe in the next couple of days.
Update: Here’s the recipe for Roasted Poblano Tacos (Tacos Rajas Poblanas)
Enjoy!
Buen Provecho foodie friends!
📖 Recipe
Habanero Tomatillo Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 lbs tomatillos husks removed and rinsed well
- 2 habanero peppers rinsed
- ½ Half onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse them well to remove stickiness from outer skin. Rinse habaneros. Add water to a small pot and over medium heat, boil tomatillos and habaneros for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from pot and place tomatillos and habaneros in a blender after removing stems from habaneros. Blend for a few seconds until you have a chunky salsa. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Place salsa in a dip bowl. (Could refrigerate for 30 min if you would like) Chop onion and cilantro and top salsa with both.
- Serve with steak, chicken or fish. Use in tacos, tostadas or burritos. Or if you’re a little daring, serve with some tortilla chips.
Nutrition
And as always please do not forget to come back and leave me your comments and let me know how much you enjoyed the Habanero Tomatillo Salsa!
Steve says
Ilive on Vancouver Island BC Canada . I had a very sucessful veggie garden last year and decided to add tomatillas and habeneros to the crop this year. Each of the tomatilla plants has 20-30 tomatillas and another 20-3- flowers. The habeneros are slower but very healthy. What size should the tomatillas reach before harvest or do they fall off the branch when ripe? Not too many grown around here so there’s no one to ask. Can you help. Gracias. Esteve
Cathy says
Hello Steve from Canada! 😄 Thanks for writing in! So happy to hear you have had success in your gardening crop and have since added habaneros and tomatillos. To answer your questions, tomatillos can grow anywhere from a golf size to a full size beefsteak tomato. They’re usually good to harvest when the fruit has filled out the husk and husk is green, then you can simply twist off to harvest. If they are left longer on stem you will notice the husk start to split some and if not removed, the tomatillos will start to ripen further and turn color. Here is a great article if you like, https://bonnieplants.com/how-to-grow/growing-tomatillos/. Hope this helps to answer your questions! Let me know how the habaneros continue growing!
Steve Woods says
I am happy to report that I am getting all the tomatillos a man could have wanted. You are certainly right about what I needed to be looking for. The biggest are twice as bid as a golf ball. I will have enough for a couple gallons of salsa verde. Thanks
Cathy says
Haha Steve! That is so great! I’m so happy to hear your tomatillos have done so well!!! A couple of gallons huh?! Haha! You will have to send some my way!! I have quite a few recipes here for all those extra tomatillos. Here are some ideas if you like, Ceviche Verde-Green Ceviche, Creamy Sour Cream Salsa Verde Sauce, Avocado Salsa Verde, and Chuletas de Puerco (Pork Chops in Salsa Verde). For more recipes, just search salsa verde and/or green sauce in the search bar and you will see a more detailed list. Hope this helps. How are the habaneros growing? Thanks for keeping me updated on the tomatillos!
Tony O' Mahony says
Tomatillos should reach the size of a regular tomato and the outer husk should start to life before it’s time to pick them. It always helps to squeeze them and if they’re still hard, they most likely aren’t ripe enough to pick. Hope this helps.
Cathy says
Thanks Tony! Appreciate your input! 🙂