November 26, 2010

What To Do With Green Tomatoes

Here in Texas we still have tomatoes growing in the garden. Where I live on the coast we may not get a hard freeze for a month or it might freeze tomorrow... you never can tell. Some of my friends in the Hill Country however are getting their first freeze tonight. That means lots of green tomatoes coming into the kitchen.

What to do with green tomatoes?


Homesick Texan (one of my favorite food bloggers) has some suggestions:
and there's always fried green tomatoes with Buttermilk Dressing


Susan Wittig Albert, author of the China Bayles herb mysteries (among others), and thoughtful Hill Country blogger has a recipe for Green Tomato Pie.


Chiots Run posted an heirloom recipe for Green Tomato Crisps, which appear to be a type of pickle.


My floury and stained copy of The New Vegetarian Epicure has three recipes for green tomatoes: Roasted Kabocha Squash and Green Tomatoes, Roasted Yams with Green Tomatoes, and Stewed Green Tomatoes with Red Jalapenos.


Roasted The New Vegetarian Epicure: Menus--with 325 all-new recipes--for family and friends Kabocha Squash and Green Tomatoes 
from The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

1 medium Kabocha (Delicata, Buttercup, or Acorn)
2# green tomatoes
1 1/2# red onions
1 1/4# small red skinned potatoes
6-8 garlic cloves
2 Tbl. olive oil
1-1 1/2 tsp. salt

Peel the squash, seed it, and cut it in 3/4 inch cubes. 

Cut the green tomatoes in 1 inch chunks. Peel the red onions and cut them in thin wedges. Scrub the potatoes and cut them in pieces no larger than the squash pieces. Peel the garlic cloves and slice the larger ones in half lengthwise. 

Toss all the vegetables together with the olive oil and salt until they are evenly coated, spread them on two baking sheets, and roast them at 400 degrees for about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours. Stir and turn the vegetables a couple times in the course of the cooking time. They should be perfectly tender, with crisped, browned edges here and there. 

Serve with couscous.


Well Preserved by Anne Dragan has a recipe for Green Tomato and Apple Chutney. 

Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook   


And these recipes sound good to me:




What is your favorite way to cook green tomatoes?

8 comments:

  1. Today I shall be taking my own suggestions because, in spite of a forecast well above freezing, we got our first freeze! There was even ice in a bucket of water sitting outside. I have lots of jalapenos and serranos to pickle as well.

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  2. Thank you! We were at 29 degrees for about 6 hours on Friday night, I have a giant mixing bowl full of green tomatoes...and that's AFTER giving away a couple bags to my neighbors. They returned the favor by giving me a plate of fried bass that they had just caught. Yum! You rock lady!

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  3. Oh, another question, for the green tomato and lemon marmalade what would you suggest replacing the sugar with?

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  4. We use Rapadura, which is sugar, but it's an entirely whole sugar (see the post Part One: The Kitchen for a link). However... it makes things taste like molasses (b/c of course it has all the molasses in it). It can definitely over power the other flavors. Or if you're a molasses lover like my dad, then the other flavors subtly compliment the molasses. That cranberry sauce we had for thanksgiving was made with Rapadura (it didn't have as much as jam would).

    So, often when I make jam specifically for other people (and sometimes for myself) I use one of the unbleached cane sugars out there. I haven't canned yet with honey but that's another option. From what I understand, honey gives you a soft set (of course sometimes sugar does too... jam making is inscrutable).

    The long and the short of it is: if you loath molasses then I would not use Rapadura. If you like molasses then I'd give it a try and see what you think. The only other whole food alternative is honey. I don't really know anything about agave syrups, rice syrups, and the like. I don't know how processed they are.

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  5. I wish I had green tomatoes! We froze 1 month early (Oct 21st-ish)! I am just on the edge of the Hill Country about 30 miles north of San Antonio! My plants barely had time to start developing any tomatoes, my less have any green ones to rescue! We had the 27F on Thursday night (Or was it Friday night?) My cabbage and broccoli didn't get covered and they really didn't like that cold at all. Not sure what will bounce back. Hoping it all does! No today I sit here at 75F and I am not even sure it dropped to 50 last night. And tomorrow night it might freeze again.

    I was visiting family & friends up in MN in Oct. At my friends farm we spent the day harvesting what ever we could from her garden before another freeze hit. I came home (yes all the way to TX) with bags and bags of green tomatoes. I hoped to make chutney, but never got around to it, so as the tomatoes ripened I roasted them with onions. Some were made into spaghetti sauce and eaten right away others batches were stashed in the freezer.

    That is a great list of things to do with green tomatoes. I think I would like to try the green tom. relish if I ever have the chance again.

    Sincerely, Emily

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  6. I'm sure you'll have green tomatoes again! Sometimes in the spring I'll harvest them early just so I can use them green (normally to make Ninfa's salsa).

    Yeah, the weather is crazy here too... as usual. Froze night before last. Last night it didn't get below 65 and today it's about 78. And of course tonight the low is 45 and tomorrow night they're forecasting another freeze! It can be a pain but I kind of like the variety.

    I'm surprised the brassicas had a problem with the freeze. My mustards and kale didn't have any damage although half of my parsley did.

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  7. I was SO surprised the cabbage and broc took a hit. I am holding out to see what they do!

    Yup - crazy weather. It's not bad, just crazy. Keeps me on my toes! I will need toe-shoes soon. I always wanted toe shoes the ballerina's worn, I thought they looked SO cool. Glad I didn't get that far, they are hard on the toes!

    Sincerely, Emily

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