Spicy Roasted Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce

Last summer Jedd and I found a tomatillo plant at Hudak’s, and went immediately over the moon. We both love tomatillos, and half the year they’re either sporadically in the grocery store, or they look a little sad and anemic.

Hello, tomatillo plant in the garden! Here we come!

And then something shocking happened. (Well, to us at any rate.) That little sucker grew, and grew, and grew, and then did some more growing for good measure. Before we knew it, we were neck deep in tomatillos.

When it comes to the garden, my motto is, “You grow it, and I’ll cook it.”

However.

But, by the end of the season my culinary creative juices were all tapped out. I’d made salsas, and salsas, and a few extra salsas. I’d frozen the tomatillos roasted, whole, and halved.

I just kind of scratched my head, and just kept on freezing them because I thought (oddly), that once I wasn’t staring down a massive bowl of them on the counter every day, that inspiration might strike.

And then it did.

I came down with a whopping case of the flu, and once I was back up on my feet – but still feeling pretty punky – I realized what I should have been making all along.

Spicy roasted tomatillo enchilada sauce.

Now, I’m a fairly modest person, so when I say that this sauce is incredible, please realize that what I mean to say is, “absolutely freaking out of this world amazing.”

So, the next time you find yourself with a bunch of tomatillos, turn that oven on and gather some hot peppers.

You’ll love yourself.

Oh, and if you don’t have a bunch of tomatillos on hand, just let me know.

I’m sure I have a few to spare.

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Spicy Roasted Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce

A bright, spicy, citrusy, and full of flavor tomatillo enchilada sauce comes together in 45 minutes, and is the sauce you never knew you needed for a weeknight dinner!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Spicy tomatillo enchilada sauce

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Author Launie Kettler

Ingredients

• 8 medium tomatillos
• 1 medium serrano pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Fit a large rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil.
• Toss the tomatillos, serrano, and onion with olive oil,salt, and pepper.
  
• Roast for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly charred and completely softened.
• Let cool slightly, and remove seeds from serrano.
• Place the roasted vegetables in a blender with lime juice,oregano, cumin, paprika, and cayenne.
• Process until smooth.
• Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan, and add in chickenbroth.
• Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a lightboil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat, let cool completely, and pour into a jar.
• Refrigerate mixture for up to 5 days.