Here’s what to do with all those unripe tomatoes sitting on the vine when it’s time to rip out the summer veggie garden. I hope I’ve got this recipe written in time for you to try it, as we are well into autumn now.
This is a fantastic alternative to green tomato chutney; it’s just as zingy and delicious, but contains no sugar, and offers all the nutritional and digestive benefits of a ferment.
Fermented green tomatoes are surprisingly delicious with cheese, cured meat, roasts and grills, and in sandwiches. I’ve heard they can also be used to flavour stews and braises, though our household is churning through them so fast I’m not sure there will be any left to try that!
It’s a good thing if your tomatoes are very organic-looking and unique. Any variation in size and shape is actually helpful when it comes to packing them into jars, where little ones can be used to plug up the spaces between larger ones. The most important thing is that the tomatoes are firm, green to pale pink, and have no rot or squishy parts.
As with all ferments, this recipe is infinitely variable and forgiving. It makes a very generous amount of herb stuffing, which could be spread over a larger quantity of tomatoes if you like. Just have extra sterilized jars on hand and make a larger quantity of brine. You can also vary the herbs and aromatics to suit your taste. The original recipe contains way more garlic, and uses chili instead of the mild bukovska pepper flakes I’ve chosen here.
Finally, a nod to the Georgian roots of the original fermented green tomato pickle. May the largely undiscovered delights of this lesser-known cuisine live on!
Ingredients
1kg firm green tomatoes
Coarse rock salt
For the herb stuffing
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp bukovska pepper flakes, or chili to taste
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch dill
1 bunch coriander
3 sticks celery, chopped
For the brine:
250ml water
8g salt
You will also need:
1-2 x 2L sterilized jars
Method
Wash the tomatoes well in cold water. Slice them in half horizontally, but not all the way through. Sprinkle the inside with coarse salt. Place in a bowl for 30 mins until the juices start to run. Keep the juice.
Meanwhile make the herb stuffing. Wash, dry and coarsely chop the herbs, including any parts of the stems that are juicy (discard the chewy, woody stems). Blitz all the stuffing ingredients in a food processor until a paste forms. It’s ok if it’s a bit chunky.
Stuff each tomato with 1-2 tbsp of the herb paste and pack them into the sterilized jars as tightly as you can. Leave a couple of inches empty at the top of the jar. Pour in the reserved tomato juice. Note that if you are using larger tomatoes, you will need more jar space and extra brine to accommodate them.
Cover the jar with a lid and leave for 48 hours. During this time the salt will draw as much juice as possible from the tomatoes and will fill about half of the jar.
To make the brine, dissolve the salt in the water. Top up the jar with enough brine to completely cover the tomatoes. Place weights on the tomatoes to prevent them from bobbing to the surface. If you don’t have fermenting weights, small Chinese or Japanese style teacups also work well.
Leave to ferment at room temperature for 7 -14 days then transfer to the fridge. The stuffed tomatoes are now ready to eat, though their flavour will continue to develop over the following weeks and months (if there are any left!).
NB: In warmer weather, 7 days fermenting is usually sufficient as microbes are generally more active at higher temperatures. In cooler weather the initial fermentation will take 14 days. Generally, warmer temperature ferments are more honky and pungent, while cooler temperature ferments are sweeter and more mellow.
Source: Bake Street