Tomatillos

Physalis philadelphica, P. ixocarpa

This shy little green tomato cousin is cozy inside a paper lantern. Known for its acidity and thicker texture, tomatillos are the base of many salsas and other dishes, used both raw and cooked. Ranging from large tomato-sized fruits to small purple tomatillos milperos with varying levels of acidity and sweetness, tomatillos are a staple solanaceous fruit. But regardless of their size, when harvesting you’re always searching for lanterns tightly fitted around full fruit, leaving the smaller fruit to grow and ripen.

RELATED RESOURCES

• What are Tomatillos?—Isabel Eats

• Salsa Verde Recipe & Chile Verde Recipe from @salty_cocina

• Mole Verde Recipe & Green Chilaquiles Recipe from De Mi Rancho a Tu Cocina

• Breakfast Chilaquiles Recipe & Mexican Spaghetti with Creamy Poblano Sauce (Espagueti Verde) Recipe from My Latina Table

• Roasted Tomatillo and Árbol Pepper Salsa—Mexico in My Kitchen

• Homemade Authentic Salsa Verde Recipe—Mama Latina Tips

Tomatillo Milpero

These small, purple or purple-blushed tomatillos are much sweeter than their larger green cousins, prized for their incredible flavor. Throughout Central and South America, corn fields are called milpas, and tomatillos milperos are a common variety often grown out en la milpa interspersed in the field.

• Salsa Verde con Tomatillo Milpero—the Tex-Mex Queen

Tomatillo Recipes