Laura Avery speaks with David Karp, the fruit detective, about the beautiful apples coming up for fall. He mentions Cox Orange Pippins, New Town Pippins, Ashmead’s Kernel, and Golden Russets, all found at Mike Cirone’s See Canyon Ranch table, and soon you will find others at Barbara Spencer’s Windrose Farm table.
Laura also speaks with David Rubell, a local private chef, about the purple tomatillos at Alex Weiser’s table. He recommends using the tomatillos with a pork shoulder roast or making a simple salsa.
Adapted from Nancy Zaslavsky’s A Cook’s Tour of Mexico.
Salsa de Tomatillo
2 pounds fresh tomatillos
2 ancho chilies
2 chipotle chiles, or chipotles in adobo
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1.Remove the outer papery husks from the tomatillos. Drop the tomatillos into a large pot of salted, boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a blender container.
2. Clean and dry the chilies. Cut off the chile stems and any hard area around the stems. Slit the chilies lengthwise and remove all the seeds. Open the chiles out flat and toast, pressing with a metal spatula until they darken and release aromas. At the same time, toast the garlic. Transfer the chiles and garlic to the blender with the tomatillos.
3. Add the salt to the blender ingredients and puree until almost smooth, keeping a bit of texture. Pour into a serving bowl and top with cilantro. Serve at room temperature.
About 3 cups.