Green Tomato Pickles

Would you believe I have never eaten a green tomato? Well, at least not for another three weeks, that is!

Tomatoes haven't done so well in our garden this year, largely due to a lack of rain followed by an overload of the stuff. I used the best of the tomatoes for batches of tortilla soup and my smoky almond tomato soup, both of which were processed in pint jars for those ever-nearing harsh Winter months. Donnie snagged a few which he ate as meals with a liberal spread of mayonnaise. Many more were lost after blistering open from nature's inconsistent showers and heat spells, and I suspect the bite marks on some of the lower fruit came from our fox family (explaining some of the daily deposits of red seed scat on the front walk).

Sometime in the past few weeks, our eggplant and tomato plants experienced a mild trauma. In a last minute effort, I salvaged the remaining tomatoes, including the unripe green fruit. Little did I know, the river was also on its way up to our garden and would be within feet of the tomatoes in mere days. These lucky survivors have piqued a new-found fascination for green tomatoes. Next year, I'll be harvesting them early on purpose!

From Fluorescent and Fresh...

...To Spicy and Full of Depth!

Curried Tigerellas (slightly adapted from Tigress in a Pickle's Curried Green Zebras)

3lbs small, round green tomatoes, preferably striped (I used Tigerella tomatoes)
1 medium onion, sliced into half moons
sea salt
3 cups cider vinegar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 & 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (I used )
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled & thinly sliced (brine-preserved ginger works well)
12 whole allspice berries
2 green chile peppers, quartered and seeds removed

Carefully slice tomatoes length-wise (vertically), about 1/4" thick. Arrange in a container with onion slices, salting each layer; cover and leave overnight. The next day, gently pour into a colander and rinse tomatoes with just enough water to remove excess salt. Tightly pack tomato and onion slices into sterile pint jars, wedging 1/2 of a chile pepper into each jar. Prepare brine by bringing cider vinegar, brown sugar, curry powder and 2 tsp sea salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Add three allspice berries to each jar and pour brine to within 1/2" of top of jar. Process jars for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. Allow three weeks before opening.


Martini Green Tomato Pickles/Tomolives (adapted from a member recipe for Martini Green Beans on Food.com)

I used a mix of green San Marzano and Roma tomatoes for my Tomolives. Use a paste or canning tomato with lots of flesh and not so much juice.
enough green plum tomatoes to fill two pint jars
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 tb granulated sugar
1/8 cup sea salt
2 dried arbol chiles
2 garlic cloves or 2 tsp minced garlic (I used minced for full dirty martini effect)
2 bay leaves
4 long strips of lemon peel
1/4 tsp mustard seed
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
24 juniper berries
2 green chiles, seeds removed
1/2 cup gin

Inspect tomatoes for any imperfections, especially bruising. Tightly pack whole tomatoes into two pint jars, wedging two chile halves into each jar to keep tomatoes in place. To each jar, add 1 arbol chile, 1 garlic clove/minced garlic, 1 bay leaf, 2 strips of lemon peel, half of the mustard seeds and peppercorns, 12 juniper berries and 1/4 cup good gin. Bring cider vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil, then pour over tomatoes into each jar, leaving 1/4" headspace. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Allow three weeks before opening.





Expect to see these gorgeous pickles soon for their "Unsealing"...