What is a Tomatillo

When we lived in Virginia my garden had many a tomatillo plants. Here in Las Vegas we don’t have the room to grow them as they love to grow wide and I never tried to cage them so not sure if it would work. Also, you cannot have just one tomatillo plant since they need to be with others to pollinate.

Bob uses tomatillos often in his cooking, which they play the main character in mostly Mexican food recipes. He uses them fresh and roasted, depending on the recipe – which always is absolutely DE-LISH. A few of my favorites are his avocado tomatillo dip, roasted tomatillo guacamole, and tomatillo enchiladas.

The tomatillo fruit is surrounded by an inedible, paper-like husk formed from the calyx. As the fruit matures, it fills the husk and can split it open by harvest.
The husk turns brown, and the fruit can be several colors when ripe, including yellow, red, green, or even purple.
Tomatillos are the key ingredient in fresh and cooked Mexican and Central American green sauces.
The freshness and greenness of the husk are quality criteria. Fruit should be firm and bright green, as the green color and tart flavor are the main culinary contributions of the fruit.

Tomatillo Tips

You can store ripe unpeeled tomatillos in the refrigerator for up to two weeks
To store in the refrigerator longer, peel away the husks in a plastic bag
You can freeze whole or sliced tomatillos
1 pound fresh tomatillos = 1 (11-ounce) canned tomatillos
Some recipes cannot swap canned for fresh {there is a reason they ask for a can and it has to do with the juices}
The smaller the tomatillo, the sweeter it is

What is your favorite dish that includes tomatillos?

Sources

Tomatillo – Wikipedia