In
Mexican cuisine
Mexican cuisine consists of the cuisines and associated traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican Cuisine, Mesoamerican cuisine. Mexican cuisine's ingredients and methods arise from the area's first agr ...
, Salsa verde () is a spicy
green sauce made from
tomatillo
The tomatillo (''Physalis philadelphica'' and ''Physalis ixocarpa''), also known as the Mexican husk tomato, is a plant of the nightshade family bearing small, spherical, and green or green-purple fruit. Tomatillos originated in Mexico and were ...
and green
chili peppers
Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to add pungency ( ...
. It dates to the
Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire, also known as the Triple Alliance (, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ or the Tenochca Empire, was an alliance of three Nahuas, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states rul ...
, as documented by the Spanish physician
Francisco Hernández, and is distinct from the various
medieval European parsley-based
green sauces.
In the cuisines of Mexico and
the Southwestern United States, it is often served with Mexican or
Tex-Mex
Tex-Mex cuisine (derived from the words ''Texas'' and ''Mexico'') is a regional American cuisine that originates from the culinary creations of Tejanos, Tejano people. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern ...
dishes such as
enchiladas and
chicharrón
(, plural ; ; ; ) is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. may also be made from chicken, mutton, or beef.
Name
, as a dish with sauces, or as finger-food snacks, are popular in Andalusia and Canarias in ...
(pork rinds). The version
typical of New Mexico consists mostly of
green chile rather than tomatillos.
Types
This green sauce comes in subtypes: cooked sauce, in which the ingredients are cooked and then ground; roasted salsa, in which the elements are roasted on a and then ground; raw sauce, in which ingredients are ground and eaten without cooking; and a combination in which some of the elements are cooked. A or a blender can be used for the grinding process. Cooking or roasting the tomatillo will enhance the flavor, providing a sweeter salsa.
After the sauce is prepared, it can be cooked again in a pan with a little oil.
See also
*
Green sauce
*
Pipián (sauce), another Mexican green sauce
References
*Bayless, Rick; ''Mexico One Plate at a Time'' (2000);
*Muñoz Zurita, Ricardo; ''Pequeño Larousee de la Gastronomía Mexicana'' (2013);
Chili pepper dishes
Sauces
Mexican cuisine
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