Alan Wolf
Alan Wolf

Roasted Tomatillo soup

 
 

Is there such a thing as too many tomatillos?

My answer is no, but with two plants in a sunny spot, I think I harvested more than 20 pounds of tomatillos in the summer of 2021. So I made a lot of salsa verde, but I was looking other things to do, and that will work with the tomatillos I put in the freezer of over the course of the summer.


From salsa to soup

Some may disagree, but there is a point where you can have too much salsa, so I was reminded of a green version of tortilla soup that I enjoyed and tried to make something similar. I began with the same process for making roasted tomatillo salsa verde, added some stock, some beans, and a protein and it turned out to be quite tasty. If I have the roasted ingredients in refrigerator, I can make this soup in 20 minutes.

 

Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound tomatillos - husked and washed

2 onions (1 peeled and quartered, another chopped)

2-3 cloves garlic (in the peel)

Chiles to taste (I usually used 1-3 Serranos and a couple poblanos or other peppers)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves and stems, additional for garnish

Salt to taste (generally about a teaspoon)

Juice of one lime (and more lime at serving)

1 tbsp oil

1 Tbsp Penzey’s Adobo powder (but you could use a cumin, oregano, black pepper to get a similar flavor profile)

2 cans of beans (black, pinto, whatever you like) drained

6 cups of water or stock

Optional

Additional chile powder

1/2-1 lb of a protein. I have used chicken and tofu, both are good.

Instructions

  1. Preheat your broiler

  2. Place tomatillos, onion, garlic, and chiles on a sheet pan - place under broiler. Broil until well roasted (blacked) on first side, flip ingredients and broil second side.

  3. Place roasted ingredients in blender removing Chile seeds if you like. Blend until roughly chopped.

  4. Add cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Blend until incorporated. Taste for salt and level of spice

  5. In a pot, heat oil and sauté onions until soft. Bloom adobo powder (or spice blend) until fragrant. If you are using an uncooked meat, you could add it now (like ground pork or chicken) and cook through. Adjust spice with cayenne or other Chile powder.

  6. Add contents of blender, beans, and water or stock. If adding cooked protein add it now. I often crumble in firm tofu.

  7. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer at least 10 minutes.

  8. Serve with lime wedges and additional cilantro