As a kid I always thought that green salsa was made from green tomatoes, but actually it is made with a distant relative of the tomato from Mexico, the naturally tart tomatillo (pronounced "toe-mah-TEE-yo"). A tomatillo looks like a little green tomato covered with a husk. It's not in the same genus as tomatoes, though both are in the nightshade family (along with eggplants and peppers).

Made with either boiling, oven roasting, or pan roasting.

• 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos (about 12 medium)
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 cloves (or more) garlic, optional
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves and stems
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers , stemmed, seeded and chopped (you can use whole for more heat if you want)
• Salt to taste