Recipes Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa (Salsa Verde Cruda) 5.0 (4,221) 1 Review In Veracruz, this versatile sauce is served with appetizers, as well as with grilled meats, chicken and fish. Zarela Martinez eats it like a lighter, spicier guacamole. The chunky-textured original version is made with a Mexican stone mortar and pestle, but you can also use a food processor or blender. Adjust the texture to your liking.Plus: More Appetizer Recipes and Tips By Zarela Martinez Zarela Martinez Facebook Twitter Website Zarela Martinez is a Mexican chef, author, restaurateur, food television host, and product developer. She and her son, celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez, host the podcast Cooking in Mexican from A to Z.Expertise: Mexican regional cuisines.Experience: Mexican-born Zarela Martinez rewrote the story of Mexican cuisine in the U.S. when she opened her game-changing New York City restaurant Zarela in 1987. This legendary dining spot replaced ignorant culinary stereotypes with brilliant, fearless explorations of regional Mexican specialties embedded in their own distinctive contexts. Zarela is the author of Food from My Heart, The Food and Life of Oaxaca, and Zarela's Veracruz, which was also the companion to a 13-part PBS television series. In 2013 she was inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. In the same year, Harvard's Schlesinger Library acquired her unpublished papers, an invaluable documentation of a lifetime dedicated to enlightening food-lovers everywhere about Mexican cuisine and culture. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 6, 2017 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Yield: 2 cups Ingredients 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped Salt 1/2 pound tomatillos, husked and coarsely chopped 1 small onion, coarsely chopped 2 serrano or 3 jalapeño chiles, coarsely chopped 6 cilantro sprigs, coarsely chopped 1 ripe Hass avocado, halved and pitted Directions In a mortar or a food processor, pound or pulse the garlic with 1 teaspoon of salt until a paste forms. Add the tomatillos, onion, chiles and cilantro and pound or pulse until a slightly chunky puree forms. Add the avocado and pound or pulse until smooth. Season the salsa with salt and serve right away. Rate it Print