This salsa is a true workhorse. It adds dimension to pork tenderloin or seafood. It’s delicious spooned on a breakfast burrito, mixed into white rice or simply served with chips. Choose smaller tomatillos with a fresher husk and roast them to bring out their natural sugars. The spicy, smoky adobo sauce is powerful kick. I start with just a teaspoon; add more to reach your desired heat level. For a chunkier salsa, chop one raw tomatillo and add it to the finished product.
Tomatillo-Orange Salsa
1 cup
4-5 small tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed well
Vegetable oil, for greasing
1 orange, peeled and segmented
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup minced red onion
1 tsp. finely chopped chipotle in adobo sauce, plus more to taste
Kosher salt to taste
• Preheat the broiler.
• Slice the tomatillos in half and place cut-side down on a foil-lined sheet pan lightly coated with oil. Broil 5 to 10 minutes, until just charred. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Meanwhile, remove as much white pith from the orange as possible. Roughly chop and add the fruit and any juice into a medium bowl. Add the cilantro, onion and chipotles and stir to combine.
• Place the tomatillos in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3 to 4 times. Stir into the orange mixture. Season to taste with salt and more adobe sauce, if desired.
This article appears in Readers’ Choice 2016.