Tomatillo Pesto

Back in September (yes, I'm that far behind on my blogging) my gardening friend asked me if I liked tomatillos, as she had a surplus of them.  I wasn't completely sure how to respond because, as a rule, I am not fond of the tomatillo sauce that is served at most restaurants, but I'm not sure how accurately that reflects the taste of a real, live tomatillo.  So I told her that I wasn't a huge fan, but would be willing to try them fresh to see whether I liked them or not.

So she brought me 5 beautiful, fresh tomatillos.  I hadn't really thought about what I would do with them, so I started looking for recipes.  I was hoping to find something other than sauce, but I did not have much luck with that.  I finally decided to try this recipe I found at A Thought for Food, a site well worth checking out as it is chock full of lovely recipes and breathtakingly beautiful photos.

I made the recipe pretty much as written, and I must say it was something of a revelation to me.  It was fresh, tart, and spicy.  It pretty much begged to be used with pork, so I bought a tenderloin at the Apple Market.  I looked online for a roasting technique for the meat and found a good one, but I somehow failed to bookmark it so I regret that I can't link to it.  But I can remember how I cooked it.

The sauce married well with the pork.    I put the tenderloin on a foil-lined baking sheet, seasoned it, and then covered it with the sauce.  I baked it at 375 deg. F. until an internal thermometer read 145 degrees, then let it rest before slicing into it.  It was stupendously good.

I cannot recommend this salsa highly enough.  It is fresh and spicy and so far goes well with everything I have tried.  It is especially good spread over fish just before broiling.

Home Cookin Chapter:  Spices Spreads Dips Sauces

TOMATILLO PESTO

4 to 5 medium tomatillos, husked and roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, washed, dried and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup toasted walnuts (any nuts will work)
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, roughly chopped, seeds removed if
you prefer less heat
1/4 cup walnut oil (any oil will work)
juice of 1 lime
kosher salt, to taste

Place all of the ingredients except for the oil in a food processor with the blade attachment and process until well blended.  With the motor running, add the oil in a fine drizzle and continue to blend to the desired consistency.

adapted from http://www.athoughtforfood.net/recipe-fettucine-with-tomatillo-and -cilantro-pesto/

Exported from Home Cookin v.8.55 (www.mountainsoftware.com)