I am finally back at home and just in time to share one last minute Cinco de Mayo recipe. A while ago a friend mentioned that Rick Bayless has a salsa that has olives in it and I was immediately taken by the idea with images of salsa verde with green olives dancing in my head. I am a big fan of fresh homemade salsa verde and I was thinking that adding olives to it would only add to the complexity of its flavour and to its robustness and I figured that Cinco de Mayo was the perfect time to try it out.
For the recipe I went with my regular salsa verde recipe and added some green olives. I like to roast the tomatillos and the jalapenos in the salsa but I prefer the texture that the fresh onions add and the pungency that the fresh garlic adds so I use them raw instead of roasting them as well. This recipe is pretty much as easy as roasting the tomatillos and the jalapenos, pureeing everything in a food processor and then you are good to dig in!
I am definitely glad that I tried adding the green olives to salsa verde as the combination is magical! Before I knew it I was already halfway done the first batch, decimating it with tortilla chips and snacking, and there was still something else that I wanted to do with it! If you are looking for more Cinco de Mayo recipes, take a look at my Cinco de May Pinterest board. I was pretty sure that the green olive salsa verde would be excellent with fish and I decided to serve it over some cilantro lime grilled halibut (see below) on a bed of cilantro lime rice along with aside of jalapeno refried beans and guacamole . As it turns out the the green olive salsa verde is excellent with fish and it made for one truly tasty meal that I will definitely be doing again!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Green Olive Salsa Verde
A roasted tomatillo and jalapeno salsa verde with green olives.
ingredients
- 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers, sliced in half and seeded
- 1/2 cup green olives
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lime, juice and zest
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- salt to taste
directions
- Place the tomatillos and jalapenos on a baking sheet and broil in the oven until they blackened all over.
- Place the jalapenos in a small seeled container such as a ziplock bag, let cool for 20 minutes and pinch the skins from them.
- Place everything into a food processor and puree.
Cilantro Lime Grilled Halibut
Halibut that is marinated in a cilantro, lime and jalapeno marinade and then quickly grilled until just cook and still nice and moist and tender.
ingredients
- 1 pound halibut or your favourite white fish
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- 2 limes, juice and zest
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 jalapeno, finely diced
- 1 green onion, finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
directions
- Marinate the fish in the cilantro, lime juice and zest, oil, jalapeno, green onion, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper for 30 minutes in a sealed container in the fridge.
- Oil your grill or grill pan and bring it to medium-high heat.
- Grill until just cooked and no longer translucent, about 2-4 minutes per side.
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
May 5, 2012 at 10:25 pmA perfect combination! So mouthwatering.
Cheers,
Rosa
Sue/the view from great island says
May 5, 2012 at 10:44 pmI just posted a Gazpacho Verde today and was debating whether or not to put olives in it. After reading your post I wish I had! I love the idea of using this with the grilled fish.
GirlieBlogger@Beauty Fashion Blog Seattle says
May 6, 2012 at 7:55 amLooks light and delicious.
Joanne says
May 6, 2012 at 11:17 amI love the idea of adding briny salty olives into the salsa verde flavor mix! Genius.
And I'm so glad you're back…I was getting worried about you. 😛
Kathleen Richardson says
May 6, 2012 at 12:48 pmSounds like another winner, Kevin!
Kalyn says
May 9, 2012 at 8:12 pmOh yes, this sounds wonderful.
Vicky says
July 4, 2014 at 7:33 pmAbsolutely love the sound of this green olive salsa verde – I've never bought tomatillos before but have always wanted to make something with them and this sounds perfect. Just shared this recipe on my blog in a roundup where I share my favorite recipe finds from the web : ))