Salsa Verde (Roasted Tomatillo Salsa)

Ingredients

• 500 g tomatillo, husked and rinsed
• 2 fresh chilli, stemmed
• 1 onion, cut into thick wedges
• 3 garlic, unpeeled
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• salt to taste

Method

1. 1.

   Set up the grill tray — Heat the oven grill to its highest setting with a shelf about 10 cm below the element. Toss the tomatillos, chillies, onion wedges and unpeeled garlic with the oil and spread them in a single layer on a foil-lined tray.

2. 2.

   Blister the tomatillos — Grill for about 8 minutes, until the tomatillos slump, darken and blister black in patches and the onion edges catch. The blackening is the point — pale salsa verde tastes thin.

3. 3.

   Turn and finish charring — Turn everything over with tongs and grill another 4-5 minutes, pulling out the garlic as soon as the skins are papery and browned so it does not turn bitter.

4. 4.

   Peel the garlic, keep the juices — Let the tray sit for 10 minutes until cool enough to handle, then squeeze the garlic out of its skins. Keep every drop of juice that has collected on the foil.

5. 5.

   Blend to a coarse salsa — Tip everything into a blender with the cilantro and lime juice and pulse in short bursts to a coarse, flecked purée — stop while you can still see specks of chilli and herb. Season with salt, loosen with a splash of water if it is very thick, and let it cool to room temperature before serving with tortilla chips or spooning over tacos.