Cafe Rio Style Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing
The best American name for this vegetable would probably be “Mexican green tomato”, but they actually taste nothing like regular tomatoes, In fact, the tomatillo is not a tomato at all. The tomatillo has a tart, lemony flavor that is enhance when cooked (especially roasted) and is an excellent base for salsas. While salsa (salsa verde) is the most popular way to enjoy tomatillo, they can be used in other ways. Tomatillos contain high amounts of vitamin A&C. Tomatillos are our #2 sales item!
Ingredients:
2 cups prepared Ranch dressing (can use a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch buttermilk mix)
1 small bunch cilantro, large stems removed (about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro)
2 large or 4 small tomatillos
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp green Tabasco sauce or 1 diced jalapeno pepper
Instructions:
Prepare Ranch dressing according to directions on the package or recipe you’re following and set aside.
Remove large cilantro stems, then wash leaves and spin dry or dry with paper towels. Add cilantro to food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until finely chopped. (If you don’t have a food processor, chop all ingredients well by hand and then blend dressing in a blender.)
Add tomatillos, garlic, lime juice, and green Tabasco sauce or chopped jalapeno to food processor and pulse until ingredients are finely pureed. Add the 2 cups of prepared dressing and pulse just a few times, until ingredients are well combined. Chill dressing for an hour or two and serve.
Variations: To make a roasted tomatillo dressing, dice tomatillos, place on a baking sheet, and roast at 400°F for 15-20 minutes before adding them to the food processor.
If you’d like even more tomatillo flavor, use 4-5 large tomatillos and decrease the buttermilk or milk in the Ranch dressing by about 1/4 cup.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
From kalynskitchen.com