Salsa V.

Despite looking like paper-covered green tomatoes, tomatillos are related to gooseberries, which probably still doesn't tell you much about them. Underneath the inedible papery husk, they are a bit sweet and tart all at once, rather like an unripe berry. They have the "green" flavor of a green tomato, but with a fruit-like acid tinge. And I caught my 18-month-old chomping on peeled tomatillos today like they were apples...there, does that help? 

I grow tomatillos in my garden for the express purpose of making salsa v.  One or two plants should do you, unless you REALLY like salsa v.  They tend to come in all at once (at least here in Zone 5B) which makes them ideal for this type of "putting up".  Rake in your whole harvest, make salsa and process...bing, bang, boom.  Any stragglers can go into late-summer fresh salsas.  This recipe scales up or down by the pound/pint, so you can make as little or as much as you want...the basic proportion for 1 pint of salsa v. is 1 lb. tomatillos, 1 jalapeno, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 onion, 1/2 tsp salt, 2-3 tbsp herbs.

Roasting the tomatillos before turning them into salsa gives a dimension of flavor not present with unroasted fruit.  You can sear them over a grill, under the broiler or on a cast-iron pan...or not at all, your choice.  Toss the dehusked fruits with a bit of oil, and give them a good 10-20 minutes of high direct  heat, until the skins are brown and the fruits are popping open.

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Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Tacos

Given the choice of whole wheat flour tortillas, special low-carb tortillas or lettuce for making tacos/enchiladas/burritos, I'll generally choose whole wheat tortillas for their presumed whole grain "naturalness" (vs. whatever weird additives have to go into a flour product to make it "low-carb") and for their lack of filling spillage (vs. lettuce leaves). 

However, since I've lately been preparing meals for someone who does need to count carbs, I actually looked at the carb breakdown on these products and it was an enlightening experience.  Again, I am not a professional nutritionist, but I am following the recommendations of one for this particular set of meals.

1 Regular flour tortilla: ~30g carbs
1 Low-carb tortilla: 13g carbs
Endless Lettuce: 0g carbs

Those of us whose bodies are still in decent working order probably don't need to stress about exactly how many carbs we're consuming, and for my family, I still think real whole grain trumps Miracle of Modern Chemistry.  But if you do have to limit your carb intake for medical reasons...wow.  I am more grateful than ever for my pancreas and its secretions, and more thoughtful about how to keep it in good shape.  Off my soapbox now.

So in making this recipe, the choice of wrapper is up to you.  The nutritional information reflects the use of ground chicken for the protein and only represents the filling itself, not the wrapper.
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