I was at the St. Jacobs Farmers Market just once this summer, which breaks my heart a little. Fortunately, my one visit was in late August when the best of Southern Ontario’s fields overflows every stall. In addition to blackberries, tomatoes and a few other odds and ends, my eyes lit on a gorgeous basket of tomatillos. I’ve tried to grow them (unsuccessfully), but never canned with them before. So exciting!
I sorted through several recipes before selecting this one. I was intrigued by the use of oregano rather than cilantro. It makes a very good salsa, although I would cut down on the amount of oregano the next time. It’s such a distinct flavour that I would prefer to be a bit more subtle.
You will need:
10 cups chopped tomatillos (you can use green tomatoes instead if you prefer)
3 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles
1 cup seeded, finely chopped jalapeño peppers
8 cups chopped onions
2 cups bottled lemon or lime juice (I used lime)
12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 T ground cumin (optional, I included it)
5 T dried oregano leaves (optional, I included it)
2 T salt
2 t black pepper
10 pint-sized mason jars (or ~20 half-pints)
Equivalent number of snap lids and rings
Directions for cooking and canning:
As always, wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Since your salsa jars will be boiling in the water bath for 15 minutes, you don't need to pre-sterilize.
Remove the dry outer husks from tomatillos. Wash tomatillos thoroughly. Delightfully, they do not need to be peeled or seeded.
Speaking of peeling, your long green chile peppers are rather nicer with the tough peel removed. I split them open, blistered them in the oven at 400 degrees for several minutes, then sealed them hot into a plastic bag until they cooled. In theory, the peels should slip off easily at that point. In reality, it wasn’t quite so elegant but I got the job done. The seeds were easy to remove at least.
Wearing gloves, halve your jalapenos and remove the stem. You can leave the seeds in.
Finely chop all the peppers, onions and garlic. (My 3-cup mini chopper proved itself a champ once again. The minced garlic was a thin of beauty!)
Combine all the ingredients into a large sauce pan, and stir frequently over high heat until it comes to a boil. At that point, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While your salsa is simmering, start heating your water bath. If your water is hard, you can add a splash of white vinegar to help prevent water stains.
Put the lids in a saucepan of water and bring to a simmer. Keep them in the hot water until you are ready to use them. (Some lid manufacturers say this is no longer necessary, but I still do it.)
Ladle hot salsa into your clean mason jars leaving about 1.5 cm headspace. If you are working in an air conditioned or otherwise chilly kitchen, it’s a good idea to heat your jars before filling so they aren’t shocked by the heat of the salsa. (A quick swim in your water bath will warm them right up.)
"Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel dipped in vinegar. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on fingertip tight.
Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the canner lid on and return to the boil for 15 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling.
Remove jars from the canner or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down.
Make sure all the jars are sealed before you put them away. Any that still haven’t sealed within 24 hours go in the fridge.
