Thursday Recipe - Salsa Verde

I adore salsa verde, except nobody makes it without cilantro anymore. In case you haven't picked up on it, I detest cilantro. Detest isn't strong enough. Abhor, loathe, despise, execrate (cool word I just found in the dictionary!). The stuff is foul beyond words. If you like it, good for you, but please, please, PLEASE don't try to convince me to try it. I have and no, I will never NEVER like the stuff.

So, I had a whole garden full of green tomatoes and needed something to do with them. I still have quarts of green tomato mincemeat in my basement. I don't have any salsa and my children eat it like candy. So salsa was the obvious answer. I couldn't use my red tomato version, so I went searching for something with green tomatoes. I came across this recipe on the Ball Canning website. I didn't have all the ingredients, so I improvised. I like the version I came up with. It's sweet, tart, citrusy, and very tasty.

Bonus, it can be bottled and stored. If you can keep your kids out of it. Just follow the canning and processing directions for your area and altitude. The original recipe has information on processing or check your local county agricultural extension office.

Salsa Verde

3 large anahiem chilies
7 c. finely chopped green tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped small
2 - 3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2 c. lemon and/or lime juice
1 t. cumin
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1 t. black pepper

Wash the chilies. Roast until nicely blackened. (This takes about 15 minutes in my BBQ grill. If you don't have a way to roast them or just want the easy way, use 2 can chopped green chilies. If you want it spicier, chop up some fresh jalapenos or other peppers and add them in.) Peel the roasted peppers, remove seeds, and chop into small pieces.

Dump everything into a large pot - chilies, tomatoes, onion, garlic, lemon/lime juice, and spices. Cook and stir over high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Fill clean, warmed pint jars. Wipe the rims clean, process and seal if desired. Otherwise, put it into containers and refrigerate for at least overnight before serving.

If you like it smoother, use a stick blender on the salsa until it's the texture you like.

This recipe makes about 5 pints.