This uncomplicated salsa adds some fresh coriander / cilantro for a fresh taste.
You can take it as hot or as mild as you wish.
The recipe comes from the Ball / Bernardin Complete book. The authors note, “In addition to making a great dip for corn chips, this salsa works well as a condiment for fajitas, burritos and quesadillas.”
The salsa has a bit of liquid that you can drain off if you want when you open a jar, and a mild heat that slowly builds, if you use a milder chile such as jalapeno.
The recipe
Jar size choices: Quarter-litre (½ US pint / 250 ml / 8 oz) OR half-litre (US pint / 500 ml / 16 oz)
Processing method: Water bath or steam canning
Yield: 4 x quarter-litre (½ US pint) jars
Headspace: 2 cm (½ inch)
Processing time: 15 minutes for quarter-litres (half-pints), 20 minutes for half-litres (US pints)
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Home-canned tomatillo salsa from the Ball / Bernardin Complete book.
Ingredients
- 900 g tomatillos (chopped. 5.5 cups / 2 lbs, measured after prep)
- 175 g onion (chopped . 1 cup / 6 oz, measured after prep)
- 150 g chile peppers (chopped fresh hot green. 1 cup / 5 oz, measured after prep)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons coriander (aka cilantro. Fresh. Finely chopped (measured after prep)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt (OR non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub)
- ½ teaspoon chile flakes
- 250 ml white vinegar (5% or higher. 1 cup / 8 oz. See NOTE about vinegar below.)
- 4 tablespoons lime juice (50 ml / 2 oz)
Instructions
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Husk tomatillos, wash stickiness off them, chop, add to a large pot.
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Wash onion, peel, chop, add to pot.
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Wash pepper, remove seeds, chop, add to pot.
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Peel and mince garlic, add to pot.
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Wash and chop the fresh coriander (cilantro), add to pot.
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Add all remaining ingredients to pot.
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Bring to a boil, stirring often.
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Lower to a strong simmer, and let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
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Ladle hot salsa into hot jars.
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Leave 2 cm (½ inch) headspace.
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Debubble, adjust headspace.
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Wipe jar rims.
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Put lids on.
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Process in a water bath or steam canner.
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Processed 15 minutes for quarter-litre (half-pint) jars; 20 minutes for half-litres (pints).
Reference information
How to water bath process.
How to steam can.
When water-bath canning or steam canning, you must adjust the processing time for your altitude.
For salt substitute, Herbamare Sodium-Free was used as it is non-bitter and non-clouding.
Australia and New Zealand vinegar strength special notes.
Recipe notes
- The pulse button on a food processor makes quick work of the chopping.
- For the hot pepper, we used 2 fresh green poblanos and one fresh green jalapeno for a somewhat hot taste. For hotter, you could use all jalapeno. By fresh, we mean as opposed to dried.
- If you don’t care about keeping the salsa all green, you may use any colour of fresh chile peppers.
- Instead of 4 cloves of garlic, you can use 2 teaspoons of minced garlic from an oil-free bottle of minced garlic.
Recipe source
- Tomatillo Salsa. In: Bernardin Guide to Home Preserving. Toronto, Canada: Bernardin Ltd. 2013. Page 58.
- Tomatillo Salsa. In: Kingry, Judi and Lauren Devine. Ball / Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. Toronto: Robert Rose. 2015. Page 212.
- Tomatillo Salsa. In: Ball Blue Book. Muncie, Indiana: Healthmark LLC / Jarden Home Brands. Edition 37. 2014. Page 37.
Modifications:
- None
Vinegar note
The Ball / Bernardin Complete recipe and the Ball Blue Book recipe, identical in all other ways to the Bernardin Guide recipe, calls for only 125 ml (½ cup) of vinegar. We contacted Bernardin in Dec. 2016 to them to ask which version is correct. They said go with the 250 ml (1 cup) for safety, so we have, but you may choose to go with the amount from the other two books. We have written to them again in 2021 to see if they still feel the same.
Safety Check
A pH of 3.68, tested a month after canning.
Nutrition information
Regular version
Per 2 tablespoons
- 26 calories, 38 mg sodium
Salt-free
Per 2 tablespoons
- 26 calories, 3 mg sodium
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
Bella
The Ball Blue Book guide to preserving calls for only 1/2 cup. 1 cup of vinegar is WAY too much vinegar for this recipe. I’ve been making Salsa Verde for 25 years, it’s a half cup of vinegar.
Healthy Canning
We agree with you about the confusion. We’ve written to Bernardin again, to see if they still feel the same about the 1 cup: is it an old legacy hangover, or, do they know something the others don’t?