Tomatoes and TomatillosTomatoes and Tomatillos

In Spanish a tomato is called “tomate” or “jitomate.”

The tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, is one of many culinary gifts Mexico gave the world, as important (or almost as important) as chocolate and vanilla. The plant originated in South America and is a member of the nightshade family along with potatoes and eggplants. The part we eat is technically a fruit—though most of us think of it as a vegetable.

In the northern part of Mexico, as well as in Spain, “tomate” refers to what people in the United States think of as a tomato, and “tomatillo” is the word used to describe another member of the nightshade family, Physalis philadelphica. This hard, green, tangy fruit visually resembles a small tomato and is easily recognizable by its papery husk.

In the central part of Mexico, however, the red tomato is referred to as “jitomate,” which reflects its Nahuatl name xitomatl, and tomatillos are referred to as “tomate” or “tomate verde.”

For this book, “tomato” and “tomatillo” will be used to differentiate between these red and green fruits.

How to Choose and Prepare Tomatoes

The Italian plum or Roma tomato is the best choice for an enchilada sauce because of its meaty texture and because it has fewer seeds than other varieties.

When using fresh tomatoes in salads or as a garnish, any flavorful, ripe, red tomato will do. For these applications, tomatoes are usually diced or sliced without removing the skins and seeds.

For other uses, some recipes call for blanching tomatoes in boiling water and then shocking them in ice water to facilitate removal of the skin. Other recipes call for blackening the tomatoes, using the same technique as for fire roasting chiles. Usually, the blackened skin is not discarded but included in the salsa.

How to Prepare Tomatillos

There are three basic ways to prepare tomatillos for use in an enchilada sauce.

Method 1: Fire roast the tomatillos (often with serranos or other small chiles) before blending.

Method 2: Blend raw ingredients and then fry the resulting sauce in a little oil.

Method 3: Boil ingredients together and then blend.

Where a particular method is traditional or preferred, it will be noted in the recipe.