– by Carolyn Herriot –
If you had the good fortune to harvest bumper crops of tomatoes this year, I am pretty sure that you are looking at loads of end-of-the-season green tomatoes right now and wondering what to do with them. Here are three of my favourite green tomato recipes, starting with the iconic southern fried green tomatoes.
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
3 medium, firm green tomatoes, unpeeled
½ cup unbleached flour
¼ cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup fine dry breadcrumbs or cornmeal
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Cut tomatoes into ½-inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Place flour, milk, eggs and breadcrumbs into separate shallow dishes. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs then bread crumbs or cornmeal.
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Fry the tomato slices, 4 to 6 minutes on each side, or until brown. As you cook the rest of the slices add olive oil as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY
(Makes 6 pint jars)
10 medium green tomatoes, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
3 large apples, chopped
4 cups malt vinegar
2½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
1½ cups raisins
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves without allowing to boil. Now bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 1½ hours, or until the mixture has thickened. Pour warm chutney into hot sterilized Mason jars, and leave the lids to seal with a pop as the chutney cools.
GREEN TOMATO MINCEMEAT
(Makes 6 pint jars)
8 cups chopped tart apples (peeled)
8 cups chopped green tomatoes
3 cups brown sugar
3 cups raisins
3 cups currants
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp mace
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 lemon, grated zest and juice
1 tsp salt
1 cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup butter (optional)
Mix apples with tomatoes and add remaining ingredients except butter. Bring gradually to the boil and simmer gently uncovered for approximately 2 hours to thicken. Stir occasionally to be sure it doesn’t stick. Drain off excess liquid. Add butter and mix in. Pour hot into sterilized Mason jars, cover with lids, which seal as they cool.
Carolyn Herriot is author of “The Zero Mile Diet, A Year Round Guide to Growing Organic Food” and “The Zero-Mile Diet Cookbook, Seasonal Recipes for Delicious Homegrown Food” (Harbour Publishing). Available at your local bookstore.
