Roasted Tomatillo Zucchini

Roasted Tomatillo Zucchini

So after another week off from finding interesting new veggies, I've got 2 this weekend. Vegetable #6 for New Year Resolution #2 - Tomatillos. While I've had roasted tomatillo salsa before at mexican restaurants, especially when I was living down in Texas, I'd never used it for cooking. Tomatillos (or tomate verde) are a staple in Mexican cooking, often used while still unripe (green). In fact, a quick Google search revealed more recipes for roasted tomatillo salsa than anything else. I wanted to use these more as a vegetable, rather than a condiment. I had some fresh Zucchini sitting in the fridge, so decided to modify one of my older recipes (Roasted Zucchini), to incorporate roasted tomatillos. 

Prep Time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium Zucchini Squash. I prefer to pick the smallest and thinnest ones I can find in the store. Each one was washed, dried and cut into 8 wedges, lengthwise. Or larger chunks if you prefer. 
2. 1 or 2 medium tomatillos, husk removed, and halved
3. 1-2 tbsp McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
4. Toasted bread

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. In an oven safe dish, place a single layer of parchment paper to prevent the veggies from sticking. Place the tomatillos, cut sides up, on the dish and pre-roast tomatillos by themselves for about 2-7 minutes. You can also use the broiler on HI for 3-4 minutes to hasten the roasting process. Remove the dish from the oven, move the tomatillo halves to the center of the dish and place a single later of zucchini wedges or chunks around it. Sprinkle liberally with seasoning. Bake for another 10-12 minutes until the zucchini begins to soften and starts to brown at the edges. As before, you can use the broiler on HI for 6-8 minutes to quicken the roasting process. Make sure you toss once, halfway during the roasting period. Also at that time, I remove the parchment paper as the salt makes the veggies sweat and there are enough juices in the dish to prevent the veggies from sticking. Once done, toss really well and make sure you get all the flavorful juices out as well to sop up with bread. While the recipe itself has no added fat. I was craving buttered toast today, so I ate my serving with crisply toasted sour dough bread, with Earth Balance Buttery Spread. 

Overall Reaction: This was a great modification of my standard roasted zucchini recipe. Zucchini is such an adaptable vegetable. It tastes great with the just lemon-pepper and this variation was along the same lines. The roasted tomatillo added just the right bit of tanginess and also added to the juices in the pan. The charring on the outside of the tomatillo added a lot of flavor which also enhanced the Zucchini flavor. I liked it!!