| Country: | Mexico |
| Type: | Green sauce |
| Main Ingredient: | Tomatillo, chili pepper |
Salsa verde is a type of spicy, green sauce in Mexican cuisine based on tomatillo and green chili peppers.
The tomatillo-based Mexican salsa verde dates to the Aztec Empire, as documented by the Spanish physician Francisco Hernández, and is distinct from the various medieval European parsley-based green sauces.[1]
In the cuisines of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, it is often served with Mexican or Tex-Mex style dishes like enchiladas and chicharrón (pork rinds). The version typical of New Mexico consists mostly of green chile rather than tomatillos.
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 Spanish; Castilian: [[Comal (cookware)|comal]] 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 Spanish; Castilian: [[molcajete]] or a blender can be used for the grinding process. Cooking or roasting the tomatillo will enhance the flavor, providing a sweeter salsa.[2] After the sauce is prepared, it can be cooked again in a pan with a little oil.