Enjoy this recipe from Chef Juan Antonio Hussong for a sharp, easy to make uncooked salsa verde that brings the heat.
Serrano Chile is the Base of This Salsa
The base chile is the chile serrano, a small, bright green chile that’s quite a bit hotter than a jalapeño, with a bright, sharp taste. It’s often used fresh in salsas, pico de gallo, and guacamole. (See our guide to chiles used in the course.)
Get to Know Chef Juan Antonio
Juan Antonio Hussong is owner and Head Chef of OSHO Restaurante, Ensenada, BC, Mexico. He creates simple, modern versions of classic Mexican dishes. We are excited that we will be sharing his 30 years of cooking experience in Mastering Mexican Cooking.
What This Salsa Goes With
Chef Juan Antonio likes the Uncooked Salsa Verde with eggs: scrambled, sunny side up, omelettes, also fish and seafood, baked potatoes, and fish tacos. Just remember, use any salsa on any dish you please. Salsas are infinitely adaptable.
Printable Recipe
Download the printable 8.5”x11” recipe sheet which includes the ingredient list, preparation instructions, and a space for your kitchen notes.
Ingredients:
1 lb. tomatillo
8 serrano chiles (8 chiles will make a very hot salsa. Use 1 or 2 fewer a milder salsa.)
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup cilantro
1/3 medium white onion
Salt to taste
Instructions
Cut the tomatillos into quarters.
Remove the stems and seeds from the serrano peppers.
Cut the garlic into quarters.
Cut the onion into small pieces.
Add the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and serrano peppers to the blender.
Blend for 30 seconds. Add a couple of ounces of water if the salsa is too thick to blend.
Add the cilantro and blend for another 30 seconds.
Serve and enjoy!
Video Transcript
Welcome to Mastering Mexican Cooking. My name is Juan Antonio Hussong.
Our next recipe will be salsa Verde cruda, or a raw green sauce. Our ingredients are onion, tomatillos, serrano peppers, habanero, garlic, and fresh cilantro. This is a simple sauce to make. Basically, what we’re going to do is put all the ingredients ... well, we have to clean the chilies first and the seeds, and we put all the ingredients in the blender and we blend it.
We’ll cut the green tomatoes in fours. We cut the stem, slice, remove the seeds. We really don’t want any seeds in there. The garlic, cut in fours. Onion, also small pieces. Remember that we’re going to blend all this, so for the blender to really grab all the ingredients nicely, we add a little bit of water and if the pieces are smaller, it will blend better.
Now that we have chopped all our ingredients in small pieces, we’re going to proceed to blend. Our next step will be to add a little salt and black pepper. Vegetable salt seasoning and I’ll let you know, and we’ll talk about this seasoning where I get it from. Now we’re going to blend, and we’re going to add water. Just enough so it moves, has a nice movement. The sauce should be nice and smooth. Now we’re going to add the cilantro.
Now we’re done with the sauce. Dash of salt. Our green salsa is finished. Please enjoy.
