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Tomatïllo
Appears in
By Alastair Little and Richard Whittington
Published 1998
At the time of writing, Mexican tomatillos, also called tomate verde, are not generally available here, though the speed with which our global larder now responds to demand suggests that this currently fashionable Californian alternative to green tomatoes will soon be brightening our supermarket fruit and vegetable sections.
The tomatillo is a green fruit covered by a brown, papery husk or calyx which is removed and discarded before use. Although it looks like an unripe tomato the tomatillo is, in fact, a relative of the Cape gooseberry and its flavour has a distinct lemon note and a sharp taste. Since the flesh is harder than that of a tomato, the tomatillo is usually cooked before eating, though they are frequently used raw in salsas either instead of tomatoes or in combination with them. Substitute green tomatoes when you can’t buy the real thing.