Chilaquiles with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

One of my favorite September traditions is spending a day making and canning roasted salsa with the Jones family. We've done it in several different kitchens - Faribault, MN, Sioux Falls, SD, and St. Louis Park, MN. After all that moving, Pam and Larry have now settled in their beautiful home in Arden Hills, MN, and it's by far my favorite kitchen we've salsa'd in.

We learn a little each year about the tomato and chile pepper crops - this year produced especially spicy jalapenos so the first two batches were tongue-numbingly hot. We did get 4 batches done (each batch cooks for about 4 hours and makes approximately 25 pints of salsa). My job is usually "Executive Tomato-Peeler" and I remove skins from 120 pounds of fresh Farmer's Market tomatoes. My fingers end up stained red and sore from the acid but it's worth it when I get to take home a dozen delicious jars of dark red spicy salsa!

The roasted salsa is not my recipe to share so you'll have to look elsewhere for that. But I can share the Grilled Tomatillo Salsa we whipped up in between batches of the other stuff. Pam had grabbed a basket of little green tomatillos at the Farmer's Market on a whim. They look like mini tomatoes that are green, with a papery covering. They need to be peeled and rinsed to get the stickiness off.

Since we were using the oven to roast the regular salsa, we grilled the tomatillos and other veggies outside on the big gas grill. Then a quick trip through the food processor with some lime juice and cilantro is all it takes to make a big bowl of spicy green sweet salsa. My tastebuds were kind of dead from all the other salsa testing so it was a day or two later when I used the Grilled Tomatillo Salsa in some Chilaquiles and fully appreciated the flavors.

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican breakfast dish. Often they feature fried corn tortillas (I prefer baking them) soaked in the salsa and topped with scrambled eggs and melted cheese. The final dish is crunchy, spicy, cheesy, and filling. Plus, it's a great excuse to eat what basically amounts to nachos for breakfast.

Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

1 basket tomatillos, papers removed and rinsed (about 25 tomatillos)

2 jalapeno peppers (or more or less to taste)

1 large yellow onion, quartered

3 large cloves garlic, skins removed

olive oil, salt, and pepper

juice of 1 lime

big handful cilantro

Put your whole tomatillos, whole jalapenos, onion quarters, and garlic cloves in a big bowl. Coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill on medium-high heat 3-4 minutes on each side until charred.

Remove from grill. Remove seeds from jalapenos (optional) and add everything to a food processor. Add lime juice and cilantro. Pulse to combine.

Chilaquiles

Corn tortilla chips (bake your own from stale corn tortillas or buy chips)

2 eggs, scrambled over medium-low heat until fluffy

fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed

grilled tomatillo salsa (recipe above)

1/4 fresh avocado, sliced

Layer chips, scrambled eggs, cheese, and salsa on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. Top with slices of fresh avocado.

ONE YEAR AGO: Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash