Tomatillos

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Comment by Dave Riley on September 18, 2020 at 7:36

Mine have never self seeded unfortunately. Perhaps because I pick them all.

Comment by Doug Hanning on September 17, 2020 at 18:30

Hey Dave do they self seed easily. Have heard of people having trouble with them becoming weedy. I havent forgotten about the nopales either, might try to pick them up not this weekend but the next, trying to organise some stuff I have to pick up on Sunny Coast. I will swap some frozen quail for them so you can try them. I will check back with you once I get this other stuff organised and see if it suits.

Comment by Dave Riley on September 17, 2020 at 0:33

Yes Tomatillos are a rarity here but they are a much better taste experience than green tomatoes.

As Alys Fowler writes:

You wouldn’t expect a sour-tasting relative of the tomato to get under your skin, but once you’ve married it with lime, salt, chilli and coriander, the common tomato looks rather basic in its sweetness. Tomatillo, Physalis philadelphica, with its crisp flesh and tart flavour, is the key ingredient for a Mexican salsa, whether used raw or roasted. It works equally well as a base for soups and combines well with white beans, pork and chicken.

So get one in ya! Unless you buy imported jars of tomatillos you'll need to grow your own.

Because of their rambling habit thay can demand a bit of space but they are happy enough in mix it with other plants without shading them. So they aren't as bushy as tomatoes nor are the stems as heavy or as brittle. I just opick up the fruited stems and move them about betyween other veg.

Potentially you can use them like tomatoes. Many dishes combine them with tomatoes. But remember that you will need at least two plants to enable cross fertilisation.

Once you embrace their flavour they become a bit of a salsa or cooking sauce essential. An addiction in fact, because they have a unique taste.

Comment by Andrew Cumberland on September 16, 2020 at 20:51

I did a green cherry tom salsa verde, but I doubt it was near as good. 

Comment by Dave Riley on September 16, 2020 at 19:32

I used some tomatillos tonight to make a braising sauce for lamb tacos. the base was a Mirepoix/Holy Trinity of peppers, onions + celery. Very nicely it was.
Tomatillos are best harvested when the fruit ball fills the casing, or even splits it. The two red balls (bottom right) are Tommy Toes hiding behind some coriander. TTs and Tomatillo fruits are about the same size but they taste very differently with Tomatillos having a firmer texture.