Pickled green tomatoes
I think I've said before that one of the things I like about the CSA is that it challenges me to come up with uses for vegetables I wouldn't typically buy. A couple weeks ago the supposedly ripe tomatoes were looking really gnarly, so I took a share of completely green ones and made pickles. Here's the finished product, backlit by the morning sun:
You can see the chili peppers on the bottom.
And here's the recipe, from Healthy Jewish Cooking, by Steven Raichlen:
Pickled Tomatoes
8 firm green tomatoes (without the least blush of pink)
7 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups distilled vinegar
1/2 cup kosher salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled
4 dried hot red chilies
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp dill seed
1. Wash the tomatoes and blot dry. Prick each tomato 12 times with a fork.
2. You can use a clean 4-quart earthenware crock or glass jar for the pickles. Place the water, vinegar, and salt in the container you've chosen and whisk until the salt crystals are dissolved. Add the tomatoes, garlic, chilies, and spices. Place a small bowl, jar, or water-filled Ziploc bag on top of the tomatoes to keep any that float submerged. Loosely cover the crock with plastic wrap and place in a cool spot in your kitchen.
3. Let the tomatoes pickle at room temperature until tart but still quite firm, 7 to 10 days. Inspect the tomatoes periodically to make sure no scum or foam has risen to the surface. If it has, skim it off with a spoon or ladle. Make sure the tomatoes remain submerged. Once pickled, the tomatoes should be stored in the refrigerator.
All the ingredients (except the tomatoes) were things I normally have in the house, so I really had no choice but to make these. I used the four-quart crock from my slow cooker, and rested a dessert plate on top of the tomatoes to keep them submerged. I put it on top of the refrigerator. I checked for scum, but there never was any. After 7 days, I tried the smallest pickle. It was fantastic. I remember my mom eating Ba Tampte green tomato pickles when I was a kid -- that's what inspired me -- but I don't remember them being this good.
I wanted to store these in glass jars, but I didn't have any empty ones, so I put them in a plastic container I hadn't used for a long time. The brine will probably stink it up permanently, but it's no great loss, and the container is recyclable.
This is my third attempt at pickles. Last year I bought kirbies at the farmer's market and made garlic dills, using a recipe from the same book. They were fantastic. The process really does seem like magic. A couple weeks ago, I made watermelon rind pickles with a recipe I found on the interwebs, but I don't like them much and will probably end up throwing most of them away. They made the whole house stink like vinegar, too, which the tomatoes did not. I guess I should stick with the recipes of my people.
Now I'm hoping the CSA will have more green tomatoes so I can make this again. I'd like to put them in a big glass jar and bring them to my mom for Thanksgiving.
You can see the chili peppers on the bottom.
And here's the recipe, from Healthy Jewish Cooking, by Steven Raichlen:
Pickled Tomatoes
8 firm green tomatoes (without the least blush of pink)
7 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups distilled vinegar
1/2 cup kosher salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled
4 dried hot red chilies
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp dill seed
1. Wash the tomatoes and blot dry. Prick each tomato 12 times with a fork.
2. You can use a clean 4-quart earthenware crock or glass jar for the pickles. Place the water, vinegar, and salt in the container you've chosen and whisk until the salt crystals are dissolved. Add the tomatoes, garlic, chilies, and spices. Place a small bowl, jar, or water-filled Ziploc bag on top of the tomatoes to keep any that float submerged. Loosely cover the crock with plastic wrap and place in a cool spot in your kitchen.
3. Let the tomatoes pickle at room temperature until tart but still quite firm, 7 to 10 days. Inspect the tomatoes periodically to make sure no scum or foam has risen to the surface. If it has, skim it off with a spoon or ladle. Make sure the tomatoes remain submerged. Once pickled, the tomatoes should be stored in the refrigerator.
All the ingredients (except the tomatoes) were things I normally have in the house, so I really had no choice but to make these. I used the four-quart crock from my slow cooker, and rested a dessert plate on top of the tomatoes to keep them submerged. I put it on top of the refrigerator. I checked for scum, but there never was any. After 7 days, I tried the smallest pickle. It was fantastic. I remember my mom eating Ba Tampte green tomato pickles when I was a kid -- that's what inspired me -- but I don't remember them being this good.
I wanted to store these in glass jars, but I didn't have any empty ones, so I put them in a plastic container I hadn't used for a long time. The brine will probably stink it up permanently, but it's no great loss, and the container is recyclable.
This is my third attempt at pickles. Last year I bought kirbies at the farmer's market and made garlic dills, using a recipe from the same book. They were fantastic. The process really does seem like magic. A couple weeks ago, I made watermelon rind pickles with a recipe I found on the interwebs, but I don't like them much and will probably end up throwing most of them away. They made the whole house stink like vinegar, too, which the tomatoes did not. I guess I should stick with the recipes of my people.
Now I'm hoping the CSA will have more green tomatoes so I can make this again. I'd like to put them in a big glass jar and bring them to my mom for Thanksgiving.