Fast and Easy Tomatillo Hot Sauce
This fast and easy tomatillo hot sauce will make your palette sing with the acidity of the vinegar and tomatillos, the jalapeño’s heat, and the cilantro’s fresh, citrusy taste.
Servings: 20 tablespoons
Calories: 7kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 9 ounces tomatillos husked, cleaned and quartered--about 2 cups
- ¼ cup onion chopped (white or yellow)
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 to 3 jalapeño peppers stem removed (or serrano peppers)
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped (optional)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Add the tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapeño pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes (until softened). Drain the liquid.
- In a blender, purée the tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeño pepper, vinegar and cilantro. (Make sure to take the vent cap off and cover the hole with a kitchen towel while blending to avoid splatter.)
- Strain the seeds out of the hot sauce with a fine-mesh strainer. You can use the back of a spoon to push the juices through the strainer into a separate container/bowl. Season with salt, to taste.
- Store in a bottle in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Shake the bottle before each use.
Notes
- Yield: This recipe makes roughly 1 ¼ cups hot sauce.
- Spice level: If you like a milder hot sauce, only add 1 jalapeño. If you want it to be hotter, add another 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers. You can also add a couple of Thai red chili peppers to the mix (they are quite small but mighty) and this shouldn't affect the green color too much but will give it more heat. Or, try using spicier green peppers such as serranos or green habaneros.
- Vinegar strength: The vinegar in this hot sauce is necessary for preservation. If it is too strong for your liking, you can try sweetening it with some fruit juice or honey to help mask the flavor.
- Hot sauce bottles: If you want to reuse an old, clean hot sauce bottle, the opening is likely very small. Use a pipette to transfer the tomatillo hot sauce to the bottle.
- Storage: While some people don't refrigerate their homemade hot sauces (especially if using them up quickly), I like to play it safe and keep them bottled in the fridge, especially because this one contains fresh fruit and vegetables. This also preserves color and flavor and extends their life. It can last for a few weeks.
Nutrition
Calories: 7kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 37mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 36IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg
