Tasty Tomatillos

I took a trip to my friend Francisco's stand, Agave y Aguacate, in Kensington Market today, with a group of twitter folk who had never been. I had the delicious flank steak salad, but while waiting for my dish to be prepared, I got pangs of jealousy watching the new menu item, a tomatillo salad, being prepared. So, since I was in the market anyway, I decided to pick up ingredients for my own version.

Luckily, I was able to find some nice tomatillos in the fourth place I tried. I also picked up some Ontario vine tomatoes, cilantro, a huge, ripe avocado, shallot, chicharrón, Spanish Mahón cheese and some sustainable tinned sardines. Yeah, I can't help it. I need that protein in my salads, but you can easily do this salad without it for a vegetarian meal, and without the cheese for vegans. Whatever floats your boat.

It was my first time eating tomatillos, and I really enjoyed their tangy, sweet crispness, which was a nice counterpoint to the creamy avocado. The chicharrón croutons made for a salty, crunchy textural element. The whole dish was a hearty, delicious supper that was just the thing I needed to wake up my taste buds on a grey and cool summer day.

Tomatillo (& More) Salad

• 2-3 tomatilloes (depending on size), cubed
• 1 medium tomato, cubed
• ¼- ½ (depending on size) ripe avocado, cubed
• a handful of cilantro, chiffonaded
• about 10 thin slices of purple shallot, separated into rings
• two tinned sardines, broken into chunks
• as many chicharrón as you like, broken into bite size pieces
  (think of them as croutons)
• about 1/4 cup grated Mahón cheese
• juice of ½ a lime
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Here's the easy part. Toss together the vegetables, herbs, fish, and chicharrón together in a largeish bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, and add seasonings and lime juice, then toss again. Top with grated cheese and buen provecho!