Foodie Friday: Tomatillo Green Chile Ketchup

You may be asking yourself: just what exactly is a tomatillo? If you are unfamiliar with this mysterious fruit, they look like this:

They are actually not related to tomatoes. Sometimes referred to as a husk tomato, they are cousins of the lowly ground cherry. Tomatillos are a bit tart and kind of lemony, except not. Boy, I'm destined to become a food writer aren't I? They are great fresh in salsas, in a stew, or made into ketchup. What!? Yes, it sounds weird but it is terribly delicious. I recently stumbled upon a recipe for Tomatillo Green Chile Ketchup, from Marissa McClellan. She writes a great canning blog called Food In Jars, and developed this recipe for Saveur magazine. I knew I had to try it. I doubled the batch (that's how optimistic I was) and it was really, really good! So good I have since made another double batch of it.

Tomatillo Green Chile Ketchup

• 2 lb. tomatillos, chopped (I skip the chopping)
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• ½ cup minced onion (or rough chop, if you're me...)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 (4-oz.) can roasted green chiles (I used fresh roasted green chiles, poblanos and anaheims to be exact)
• 1 garlic clove, chopped

Put all ingredients in a large pot and simmer til softened. Use an immersion blender to puree til smooth (see...that's how you can skip all the chopping!). Simmer til thickened to your liking. Keep in mind it will thicken a bit more as it cools also. If you'd like, it can be processed in a water bath for 15 minutes, or just store in the refrigerator. Makes 3 cups.