I just returned from a trip to Los Angeles, where the variety and abundance of produce at the local farmers’ markets reminded me of how fleeting my garden’s productive season is -- all the more reason to not let anything that I grow go to waste.
Back when I was living in L.A., I grew to love a vegetable known as the tomatillo (and I'm eagerly awaiting it in my garden here in New York state). Physalis philadelphica is also known as the husk tomato or Mexican tomato. It’s the base ingredient for Mexican green salsa and has a tangy taste and rich texture when cooked, thanks to its high pectin content.
Tomatillos are related to tomatoes, but more closely related to ground cherries. The plants have a long growing season (120 days to fruit), and even in my climate, they are productive beyond all reason. However, you must have at least two plants: they cannot pollinate themselves.
My first year gardening here, I went on a mad search for the plants, which proved tough to find. I finally talked a friend at a local farm into parting with a couple of seedlings. The following year, another friend surprised me with plants from her own garden. This year, my tomatillos are "volunteers," and though they are neither as hardy nor as productive as their intentionally planted cousins, I still expect to have enough of a crop to enjoy some now and some in the dead of winter.
I was thrilled to learn last summer that tomatillos can be preserved whole via freezing. They need no cooking at all: simply husk them, wash and dry thoroughly, and then freeze in your container of choice. (I am trying to rid my life of plastic, I am, and though I ration my consumption of zippered plastic bags, they are perfect for freezing whole tomatillos.) When ready to use, they can be thawed and cooked as desired.
This week in my garden:
NEEDING: As I said, I’m trying to use less plastic, and freezing in glass containers is a good start. One of my favorite garden blogs, Chiot’s Run, has a terrific primer on the rules for freezing in glass, and these French jars would make the process easy. Another alternative is freezing in airtight steel containers. Pricey, but they’ll last.
SEEDING: It’s not quite time to put the garden to bed, but in the interest of planning ahead, I’m learning about cover crops. These are generally grasses or legumes planted in the fall and left to die over the winter. This replenishes nutrients in the soil, and holds it in place during the freeze/thaw cycle. Cornell University has a great guide to the different cover crop options.
FEEDING: In the summer, I make this salsa on the grill outside, but during the winter, a stove-top grill pan works fine.
Grilled Tomatillo Salsa
Makes approx. 3 cups
12 tomatillos, husked and washed
1 white onion, thickly sliced
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 jalapeño chile, halved and seeded
Juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Grill the whole tomatillos until slightly charred and softened, and remove to a bowl to cool. Repeat with the onion slices, garlic and jalapeño. When cool enough to handle, chop the vegetables coarsely. (Best to wear gloves when chopping the jalapeño.) Stir in the other ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Photo by H. S. Crump via flickr.com/ramson
