TOMATILLO

A TOMATILLO IS NOT A GREEN, unripe tomato, but it is certainly a close Mexican cousin, with an inedible papery husk that makes it look like a Chinese lantern. I like to use tomatillos in salsas, stews, and salads because they can be eaten raw, blanched, and best of all, roasted. I think of tomatillos as little treasures, beautifully round, beautifully wrapped, blushed with purple. I can imagine some potentate carrying a basket of tomatillos as a cherished present to another head of state.