So we are still harvesting from the organic garden!! Go go October (in reality this warm weather is a bit unnerving, but I am soaking it in!)! This was the first year I have ever grown tomatillos. Note: they are like weeds!!! They take over the garden and get super tall and produce like mad! They did much better than my tomatoes this year, as we had a very wet and cold August (unlike what’s happening in the fall!). I have it as a goal to eat and make more fermented foods, and had had a version similar to this from my friend Donna. She just throws stuff together and then ferments it, but I know most people need a little more direction that that 🙂 So, I threw together this recipe!
I use a device called the perfect pickler. It’s a fermenting top, and for more how to’s, check out my kimchi recipe, where I post a video on it. The top prevents bad stuff floating around in the area from getting in, but allows for gas exchange from good bacteria as the veggies breakdown. This is part of the fermentation process, and the reason that eating fermented foods are good for you! Eating fermented foods, allows you to more easily digest raw foods, and recolonize your gut bacteria, something we have greatly damaged through our use of processed foods. My goal is to do this more, as it’s really easy to do! Just takes time on the counter. Think of yourself as a food scientist!
Tomatillos, while it sounds like it, are not small versions of tomatoes. They are in the same nightshade family, but differ in that they have papery outsides, are more resistant to rot, and store longer. They can be slightly tart. Make sure the papery outsides aren’t too dried up, and flesh is green. The flesh is sticky, don’t be worried! This is normal. 
Ingredients:
- ~16 tomatillos, peeled, 2 cups once coarsely chopped in a food processor
- 1/2 cup banana pepper (1 good sized pepper)
- 1/2 cup green/red pepper
- 1/2 cup red onion
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 3-4 tbsp brine (made from diluting 1 1/2 tsp salt to 1 cup water, extras can be saved for other fermented veggies)
Instructions:
- Peel green tomatillos. Cut in half and pulse in a food processor to form a rough chop
- Place in a bowl and then coarsely pulse remaining ingredients, except brine, in processor.
- Add tomatillos back in and puree to desired texture. I kept ours coarse
- Place into a canning jar and pour brine on top to cover veggies
- If using a fermenting device, like the perfect pickler, follow manufactures directions.
- Alternatively, use a piece of mesh and place canning ring around to secure.
- Let sit at room temp for about 5 days, tasting after 4 days to desired taste
- Place in refrigerator. Will keep at least a month. Release top every so often.
- Serve atop salads, veggie burgers, or as an appetizer with chips or veggies!
Nutritional benefits:
- Raw & fermented, great for rebuilding gut health
- Very low calorically
- Good source of Vitamin C, an antioxidant that boosts immune health (peppers boost this content)
- No added sugars, grains, fats
- Plant-based to decrease inflammation in body
- High in fiber-great for blood sugar regulation
- ~16 tomatillos, peeled, 2 cups once coarsely chopped in a food processor
- ½ cup banana pepper (1 good sized pepper)
- ½ cup green/red pepper
- ½ cup red onion
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 3-4 tbsp brine (made from diluting 1½ tsp salt to 1 cup water, extras can be saved for other fermented veggies)
- Peel green tomatillos. Cut in half and pulse in a food processor to form a rough chop
- Place in a bowl and then coarsely pulse remaining ingredients, except brine, in processor.
- Add tomatillos back in and puree to desired texture. I kept ours coarse
- Place into a canning jar and pour brine on top to cover veggies
- If using a fermenting device, like the perfect pickler, follow manufactures directions.
- Alternatively, use a piece of mesh and place canning ring around to secure.
- Let sit at room temp for about 5 days, tasting after 4 days to desired taste
- Place in refrigerator. Will keep at least a month. Release top every so often.
- Serve atop salads, veggie burgers, or as an appetizer with chips or veggies!
