Roasted Tomatillo-Poblano-Avocado Salsa

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated March 9, 2023

Roasted Tomatillo-Poblano-Avocado Salsa
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(105)
Comments
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One of my favorite new cookbooks of this season is “A Mouthful of Stars” (Andrews McMeel), by Kim Sunée. The book is a memoir, travelogue and cookbook all rolled into one, written by an author who earlier published another compelling memoir with recipes, “Trail of Crumbs.” Kim is a poetic world traveler who loves many cuisines. She is a big fan of taco trucks and loves salsa, the spicier the better. This salsa is based on her recipe for roasted tomatillo-poblano salsa. I love its balance of char, heat, acid and creamy. I’m a moderate when it comes to heat, but you can make this hotter by adding more chiles.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 2 cups, serving 6 to 8
  • ½pound tomatillos, husked and quartered
  • 2poblano or Anaheim chiles, stemmed and quartered (cut in half lengthwise, pull out seeds and membranes, then cut halves in half crosswise)
  • 1 to 2jalapeño or serrano chiles (to taste), stemmed and seeded if desired
  • 1medium white or yellow onion, peeled and quartered
  • 2garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • ½cup chopped cilantro
  • 1teaspoon ground toasted cumin
  • 1large ripe avocado, halved and pitted
  • Juice of 2 limes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

108 calories; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 256 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment. Place tomatillos, chiles (both types), onion, and garlic on the parchment and drizzle on olive oil. Add salt to taste and toss together with your hands. Place in oven and roast 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until blistered and softened. Remove from heat.

  2. Step 2

    Place roasted vegetables, with any juice from the pan, in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until well blended but not puréed. Add cilantro, cumin, avocado and lime juice and pulse until blended. Taste and adjust salt. Serve at once or store in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator. Stir well before serving.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: This will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
105 user ratings
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Comments

Jay

I made this essentially as written, with a couple modifications: omitted avocado (felt like a waste of precious avocado to me), and added ground coriander and black pepper (probably unnecessary). Delicious and fresh-tasting, excellent on eggs. Next time I'm going to experiment with roasting the chiles (I used two each of poblanos and jalapenos, most seeds removed) a bit longer (30-40 mins), as they were still quite pungent. 20 minutes was perfect for the tomatillos though, I think.

VermonterK

I loved this so much (omitted avocado) that I went back to the farmers market this weekend to get a lot more ingredients and canned 9 half pint jars. I used poblano, Anaheim, Serrano, and jalapeño. Fantastic depth of flavor and acid/spice balance. Really good on egg tacos or over grilled chicken. Or out of the spoon.

Anna

The avocado made this less acidic to me. It was amazing. Total home run. I did have roasted garlic cloves on hand and was a bit more liberal with them but otherwise followed the recipe to a T. Martha Rose Shulman makes me very happy.

Gigi

I've made this multiple times-it's so good!

Gigi

So good!!

fn

This is a delicious salsa and great for a topping for grilled chicken. Don’t change a thing. It lasts in the fridge for a while as the avocado doesn’t brown like guacamole. I’ve made this several times and always a crowd pleaser.

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