Purple Tomatillo

Tomatillos are a force of a nature. They grow like weeds into lush plants the size of small trees and yield huge quantities of fruit that, in the right hands, can be turned into spectacularly delicious sauces and salsas. They self-sow readily, tolerate too much water and too little, and attract the eye with their shiny leaves and ornament-like husked fruit. The purple hue of this variety makes for a show-stopping salsa that blushes at the touch of every tortilla chip.

Sprawling heavily branched plants have deep-deep-green leaves and small, pretty, brown-flecked cupped yellow flowers. Fruits start out deep purplish-green and ripen to a light yellowish green with a large purple blush on the bottom. Flavor is great and yield is heavy. Overloaded with fruit? Remove the husks, place in zippered plastic bags, and store in the fridge, they'll last several weeks.