{"id":888,"date":"2014-12-14T21:15:19","date_gmt":"2014-12-15T03:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pcandres.com\/?p=872"},"modified":"2015-11-06T11:12:30","modified_gmt":"2015-11-06T17:12:30","slug":"my-brother-the-vegetable-tomatillo-soup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/?p=888","title":{"rendered":"My Brother the Vegetable: Tomatillo Soup"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0;float:none\"><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fthesoupblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D888&amp;layout=button_count&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;width=450&amp;height=30\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width: 450px; height: 30px;\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1051\" style=\"width: 363px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-1051\" href=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/?attachment_id=1051\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1051\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1051   \" title=\"Tomatillo Shadow\" src=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Tomatillo-Shadow.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"353\" height=\"354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Tomatillo-Shadow.jpg 988w, https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Tomatillo-Shadow-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Tomatillo-Shadow-298x300.jpg 298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 353px) 100vw, 353px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1051\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In the Shadow of the Tomato<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Do you have siblings who overshadow you in all aspects of your life? Are they better looking, funnier, more successful, and just plain more likable than you are?<\/p>\n<p>Me neither.<\/p>\n<p>But if you asked those same questions of the tomatillo, you\u2019d get a whole lot of head nodding.\u00a0 Not literally.\u00a0 It is, after all, a vegetable, and has neither a head nor the neck on which to nod it.<\/p>\n<p>What the tomatillo does have is pale green skin; a papery husk; a tart, lemony taste; firm texture and a cousin from the right side of the tracks who\u2019s a big star.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine being the unsung relative to the tomato.\u00a0 Known and loved the world around, the tomato is the go-to ingredient in many, many international cuisines.\u00a0 It\u2019s in both of the top condiments in the United States (catsup and salsa).\u00a0 It\u2019s slathered onto just about every pizza we eat. It also plays the lead in one of Campbell\u2019s most popular soups (my sister\u2019s favorite).<\/p>\n<p>And the tomatillo?<\/p>\n<p>Isn\u2019t it in that green salsa Mexican restaurants sometimes serve to contrast the red in their more popular salsas?<\/p>\n<p>Poor thing.<\/p>\n<p>It must be hard to have a relative who\u2019s so much more talented than you are.\u00a0 Ask Roger Clinton, Billy Carter or George W. Bush.\u00a0 And to make matters worse, the tomatillo works in the same field as the tomato.\u00a0 It\u2019s not some unknown starving his family as it pursues the dream of being an artist.<\/p>\n<p>Nope.<\/p>\n<p>The tomatillo is in the food business just like the tomato.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s found something of a niche in Latin cuisines, in green sauces and even some guacamoles according to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.epicurious.com\/tools\/fooddictionary\/search?query=tomatillo&amp;submit.x=0&amp;submit.y=0&amp;submit=submit\">Epicurious.com<\/a>.\u00a0 But tomatillos have never crossed over into the main stream.<\/p>\n<p>To be honest, I\u2019ve only worked with them once before and that was for one of my Christmas soups a few years back.\u00a0 I can\u2019t really remember what was in that one.\u00a0 I seem to recall that it was a green tamale soup or something, which sounds really good, especially since that\u2019s what many Hispanic families get together to make during the holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s not the soup I made this week.\u00a0 This week\u2019s soup is more of an ad lib.<\/p>\n<p>It started, as so many of these things do, at Caputo\u2019s, where I fixed on the tomatillo bin and decided its time had come around again.\u00a0 I already had onions, garlic and a package of stew meat at home, so the supporting cast was pretty much set.\u00a0 The only obstacle was that I didn\u2019t really know what the hell I was doing.<\/p>\n<p>After I peeled the husks off the tomatillos and started dicing up their insides, I was struck by the sensation of slicing through wet Styrofoam.\u00a0 Maybe not that bad, but nowhere near as juicy as a tomato. \u00a0The taste was strange too, sort of tart but mild too, almost to the point of blandness.<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t bode well.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s when I made the mistake that I strongly urge you not to make.\u00a0 I added the juice of one lime.\u00a0 Well, it works with <em>carne asada<\/em>, right?\u00a0 Next came the cheese and mild chilies and the soup turned into something really good.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, it smelled fantastic.\u00a0 The only problem was the taste, which was a bit on the tart side.\u00a0 And for that I blame the lime. (Don\u2019t use it people!) \u00a0Really, I blame myself. If I had known what I was doing, I would have trusted the tomatillo to hold it\u2019s own against the beef and Monterrey jack, but I didn\u2019t and I feel terrible.<\/p>\n<p>I know what it\u2019s like to have someone second-guess my abilities and rush in to salvage a situation I had well in hand.\u00a0 At least I can imagine what that\u2019s like.\u00a0 You know, from books and stories I\u2019ve read.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have any actual experiences like that, but I do have a pretty good imagination.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t believe me, just ask my brothers and sister.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tomatillo Soup<br \/>\n<\/strong>(serves 6-8)<br \/>\n1 T canola oil<br \/>\n1 cup onions, diced<br \/>\n1 lb, beef, seasoned and chopped<br \/>\n4 cloves garlic, minced<br \/>\n2 lbs, tomatillos, chopped<br \/>\n6 cups stock<br \/>\njuice of 1 lime (Don\u2019t add this, it\u2019s a typo)<br \/>\nsalt &amp; pepper to taste<br \/>\n8 ounces, Monterrey jack cheese, shredded<br \/>\n1 can, mild chilies, diced<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Heat the oil in a \u00a0medium (3 quart) soup pot and saut\u00e9 the onions,      beef and garlic over medium heat until the onions are tender and the meat      is nicely browned (6-8 minutes).<\/li>\n<li>Add the tomatillos, stock and seasonings and bring the      soup to a boil.\u00a0 Then reduce it to a      simmer and keep cooking, covered, for 20-30 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>Stir in the cheese and chilies, and simmer for an      additional 15-20 minutes to let the flavors marry.<\/li>\n<li>Serve warm with Mexican fare (quesadillas, tacos,      taquitos, enchiladas, etc.)<em> <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Image Credit:\u00a0 In the Shadow of the Tomato <\/em>composed by the author from clipart and MS Paint.<\/p>\n<p><strong>As if the tomatillo didn\u2019t have enough of a problem being overshadowed, this is Christmas soup week\u2014seven days, 15 gallons of soup, canned.\u00a0 Which of this year\u2019s soups would you want to see in a 32 ounce mason jar?\u00a0 Let me know in a comment. I\u2019ll be reading <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and<\/span> responding.<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you have siblings who overshadow you in all aspects of your life? Are they better looking, funnier, more successful, and just plain more likable than you are? Me neither. But if you asked those same questions of the tomatillo, you\u2019d get a whole lot of head nodding.\u00a0 Not literally.\u00a0 It is, after all, a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113,15,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beef","category-cheese","category-tomatillo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=888"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1147,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888\/revisions\/1147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesoupblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}