Recipes for green tomatoes

Crunchy Chicken, a US blogger who’s also attempting to lead a low-impact and more sustainable life, has had the good luck to harvest a plethora of green tomatoes and has appealed for suitable recipes to preserve them.

Specifically, she was seeking a recipe for green tomato sauce, so here’s mine.

Green tomato sauce

Ingredients

• 3lb green tomatoes (rinsed, cored and chopped)
• 1lb tart green apples (peeled and cored)
• 2 small white onions (peeled and chopped)
• 8oz sugar
• 1 tsp pickling spice
• 1/2 tsp grount white pepper
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1/2 pint vinegar

Method

1. Place the tomatoes, apples and onions in a large saucepan and heat gently until they start to break down. Stir frequently.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients and increase to a moderate heat. Stir constantly until the sauce just starts to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
3. When the sauce has reached a thick, pulpy consistency, rub it through a sieve into a clean pan and bring back to the boil.
4. When the sauce is boiling, use a funnel to pour it into hot, sterilised half-pint bottles and seal immediately with sterilised lids. All to cool and check the lids have all sealed.

For something more exotic, try a chutney with a difference:

Green tomato and banana chutney

Ingredients

• 1lb green tomatoes (rinsed, cored and chopped)
• 2 bananas (semi-ripe - yellow with a hint of green; peeled and chopped)
• 8oz onions (peeled and chopped)
• 8oz raisins
• 4oz crystallised ginger
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 oz salt
• 1 1/4 pints vinegar
• 12 oz sugar

Method

1. Place the tomatoes, bananas and onions in a large saucepan.
2. Briefly blitz the raisins and ginger in a food processor (chunky pieces and not a pulp or puree). Add the raisins and ginger to the saucepan.
3. Gradually bring the chutney to a boil over a moderate heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.
4. When the chutney is soft and pulpy, remove the lid and add the cayenne, salt, vinegar and sugar. Stir well and bring back to a slow boil, stirring constantly until the chutney has thickened.
5. Ladle the hot chutney into hot, sterilised jars and seal immediately with hot, sterilised lids. Allow to cool and check the seals on the lids.

Other recipes with green tomatoes that I’ve published on the blog include chow-chow and spicy green tomato chutney.

I hope this give you some inspiration, Chunky Chicken.