We created a delicious fruit pizza, ideal for a summer dessert or midafternoon snack.
Sophie Coe, my guru when it comes to early Meso-American cooking, in her masterpiece, America's First Cuisines, tells us that the tomatillo (also known in Mexico as "miltomate," "tomate verde," or simply "tomate") was likely the most-consumed "tomatl" (Nahuatl for a general class of plump fruit) in pre-Columbian times. Yes, more than the "jitomate" or red, ripe tomato to us English speakers. That explains, I think, why a mouthful of tomatillo salsa transports you straight to Mexico. It is the gustatory essence of the country - a gleaming contour of fresh green spiciness, herbal perfume and zest.
Instructions
Ingredients
The purest chili I know is the Chili con Carne (chili with meat) of northern New Mexico. Dried whole chiles are toasted, soaked, pureed with only a few seasonings, and then cooked with chunks of browned beef. Never are there beans or tomatoes.
This recipe, from the Canal House restaurant in New York City's Soho Grand Hotel, has been lifted from my last cookbook, The New Elegant but Easy Cookbook. Some things are worth repeating. I have never met anyone who ate just one serving.