Your Tomatillo has pretty flowers, usually pale yellow with a dark centre, and then the fruit develops inside a papery lantern.
The plants do best undercover although a warm summer in southern UK will suit them outside. You need at least 2 plants for pollination for the best crops. These plants are multi-branching and like a bit of support - a small piece of netting is sufficient to keep them tidy - they can sprawl a bit otherwise. Pop in the plants 50-75cm apart
Tomatillos are ripe & ready to use when green, firm and the paper husk has split but is still attached and has changed colour from green to beige - the fruits will be 3-5cm diameter - keep picking during the season (in the UK undercover this will be in August and September, if the weather remains mild then you will be able to pick into October).
Take the fruit out of the papery husk and rinse them to remove the sticky coating before using. The flavour is amazing; zingy, tart and tangy and perfect for salsa. To make a simple salsa chop some tomatillos, onion, fresh chilli, coriander, then mix with lime juice and add salt to taste. They are a staple of Mexican cooking – and a tomatillo ‘salsa verde’ is the perfect accompaniment to enchiladas, fajitas & tacos.
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