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Tomatillo Pineapple Salsa
![Tomatillo Pineapple Salsa](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/04/25/dining/25COOKING_PINEAPPLESALSA/25COOKING_PINEAPPLESALSA-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 20 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1pound tomatillos (about 6 medium)
- 6Padrón peppers (or use shishito peppers), stems removed
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 1cup diced pineapple
- 1hot paper lantern pepper (or use a habanero pepper), stem removed
- 2cloves garlic, smashed
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- ½teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1cup diced onion
- ½cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
Preparation
- Step 1
Remove the husks from the tomatillos and rinse well. Halve the tomatillos and Padrón peppers.
- Step 2
Set a skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the tomatillos, Padrón peppers, pineapple, paper lantern or habanero pepper, garlic, oregano and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until everything starts to char, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Step 3
Once charred, transfer the contents of the skillet to a blender or food processor and add ½ cup water. Blend until almost puréed. Pour mixture into a bowl and chill for 1 hour.
- Step 4
Stir in onion, cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt to taste.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Is there an East Coast substitute for the fresh padron or shishito peppers?
It would change the flavor up a bit, but I don't see a reason why poblanos wouldn't work really well in this. They're awesome with tomatillo and pineapple, especially if everything has a little char. Maybe just 3-4 of them depending on size as opposed to the 6?
If you Google "substitute for padron peppers" you will find many options.
I've subbed Anaheim and Poblano as well...adding two of these larger peppers instead. In the last batch, I didn't even have these, but had large, meaty jalapenos, so I used two of these. I've also been using only half to 3/4 of the habenero to make this palatable for average palates. Heed the advice to add your habenero sparingly to get the heat level you desire. They are so great with the sweet pineapple- but they can overwhelm easily.
In Connecticut Trader Joes often has packages of shishito peppers.
Substituted Shishito for the Padron and Serrano for the habanero, and could not believe how amazing this salsa was. Did briefly deglaze the pan with lime juice before blending, which I would do every time to get that delicious char into the salsa.
Made without cilantro and the paper lantern pepper, was still amazing. Only slightly spicy.
Got a second place finish in a chili cook off with this one! One mod - adding some leftover pineapple minced or chunked up at the end with the cilantro and onion adds some nice extra sweetness if desired!
This salsa is absolutely excellent. I make it as-is and it's always a hit. I found it originally, linked from a taco meat recipe which it paired particularly well with - and which I can no longer find. Any clues anyone?
I had two pounds of tomatillos and frozen pineapples, so not surprisingly, the time on the stove was closer to “simmer in pineapple juice” than “char.” Still delicious as a puréed salsa.
made this twice now with tomatillos from our CSA; its great! we don't do spice so omitted the hot peppers but otherwise made as specified. very yummy salsa!
Be sure to turn the hood fan on if you plan to stand there while charring the peppers!
Substituted one seeded jalapeno for ALL of the peppers, and came out delicious and not spicy at all.
I thought this was fabulous. Used jalapeño as that’s what I had, as well as some mild peppers and purple tomatillo from my garden. Absolutely gorgeous. Used it to top tostadas - a real hit!
I replaced the Padrón peppers with half of a roasted jalapeño, added another half habanero for added kick, and added 3 tablespoons of vinegar for more tartness to bring out the tomatillo flavor more fully. This made the overall balance of flavors between tart, sweet, and spicy.
Excellent. Made exactly as written using the alternate Habanero and Shishito peppers. It is quite hot, but the heat mellows out after sitting in the refrigerator for a few hours. I did add the cilantro and onions after the first hour of cooling, then placed it back into the refrigerator.
I'd make it again sans the pineapple. It overwhelmed the other flavors.
This salsa is incredible. We couldn’t stop eating it. The longer it sits, the better. Made this in Mexico and couldn’t find padrón peppers or shishito but used miniature looking bell pepper-type sweet peppers and it was perfect.
I used shishitos and a a habanero pepper from my garden, and cubed canned pineapple, but this is the best salsa I ever made! I paired it with the lamb flatbread with za'attar, used a smear of Mexican crema over an avocado thinly sliced over the lamb & grated Cotija. Incredible! The middle-eastern flavor of the lamb blended beautifully with the salsa. I have a guest at home but even though I doubled the recipe, she ate all the salsa in a couple days, used it on eggs, & with chips.
If you watch the video, they are using "lantern peppers". which are a Northern but slightly hotter habanero. Sorry, shishitos don't even come close.
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