Give me your best green tomato recipe!
October 28, 2022 7:22 PM Subscribe
Frost will happen any day now, and yet my tomato plant is still hopefully pumping out ludicrous amounts of green tomatoes that will never ripen. I have no idea what to do with them, but I bet you do! What's your favorite recipe for green tomatoes?
This question was asked two years ago but did not get many answers...I'm hoping to get more this time!
This question was asked two years ago but did not get many answers...I'm hoping to get more this time!
Best answer: When I moved from California to Oregon, that's what I called a "Portland tomato." Bring them in, leave them attached to the vine, let sit. Some will turn pink or even red.
In case you (or some future reader) don't already know, the cure for Portland tomtaoes is to buy short-season tomato seeds and to start your tomatoes indoors quite early.
If you're not one of the baker that understands about things like quarter teaspoons and acidity and precision recipes that are perfect works of edible art, but instead one of the bakers who, like me, thinks most baked goods turn out good enough to eat, then you can substitute green tomatoes for applesauce, and applesauce is a substitute for eggs.
Substitute green tomatoes in any baking recipe that calls for eggs.
posted by aniola at 7:31 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
In case you (or some future reader) don't already know, the cure for Portland tomtaoes is to buy short-season tomato seeds and to start your tomatoes indoors quite early.
If you're not one of the baker that understands about things like quarter teaspoons and acidity and precision recipes that are perfect works of edible art, but instead one of the bakers who, like me, thinks most baked goods turn out good enough to eat, then you can substitute green tomatoes for applesauce, and applesauce is a substitute for eggs.
Substitute green tomatoes in any baking recipe that calls for eggs.
posted by aniola at 7:31 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Just pick them and leave them on the counter on some cardboard or newspaper — most will ripen over time.
Otherwise, green tomatoes are a passable substitute for tomatillos in many Mexican dishes (salsa verde, pipian verde, etc).
posted by ssg at 7:39 PM on October 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
Otherwise, green tomatoes are a passable substitute for tomatillos in many Mexican dishes (salsa verde, pipian verde, etc).
posted by ssg at 7:39 PM on October 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Maybe this is too obvious, but: fried green tomatoes are freaking delicious, especially with remoulade.
posted by MadamM at 8:48 PM on October 28, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by MadamM at 8:48 PM on October 28, 2022 [6 favorites]
Best answer: Green tomato chutney. That recipe needs pickling vinegar, which is something you can trivially make yourself - vinegar boiled with a selection of spices to flavour it, search online for a recipe that suits your tastes. I would normally use malt vinegar, but it can be hard to find in bulk in the US.
Note that chutney improves the longer you leave it. It will probably not taste good until around the six week mark and will get steadily better after that. Excellent in cheese sandwiches with sharp cheddar, or with cold meats.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 8:54 PM on October 28, 2022 [5 favorites]
Note that chutney improves the longer you leave it. It will probably not taste good until around the six week mark and will get steadily better after that. Excellent in cheese sandwiches with sharp cheddar, or with cold meats.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 8:54 PM on October 28, 2022 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding fried green tomatoes! Buttermilk cornmeal fried green tomatoes with remoulade!
There's also green tomato jam which goes nicely with a lot of things.
posted by erst at 8:55 PM on October 28, 2022
There's also green tomato jam which goes nicely with a lot of things.
posted by erst at 8:55 PM on October 28, 2022
Best answer: This green tomato dal is delicious.
posted by mezzanayne at 9:15 PM on October 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by mezzanayne at 9:15 PM on October 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Options:
A) Roast green, cool thoroughly. Chop with onions, peppers, spices to your taste and it winds up as a really lovely salsa verde equivalent. Maybe a splash of lemon or lime juice, some cumin or cilantro- improvise to taste. Serve on corn chips or tacos.
B) Fried green tomatoes- soak those green tomatoes sliced overnight in buttermilk, dredge in flour, dunk in egg wash, then cover in panko bread crumbs. Fry in butter. Salt to taste.
C) Put in paper bag with a banana to release ethylene gas, which ripens everything in the bag. Takes a few weeks. As those weeks progress, pick out red ones as they ripen every few days, or you’ll have a mix of green tomatoes and rotten tomatoes. Will they be “off the vine midsummer sweet?” No, but it will be a grocery store tomato equivalent. Remove banana when banana is super ripe and eat or use for banana bread.
posted by slateyness at 9:31 PM on October 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
A) Roast green, cool thoroughly. Chop with onions, peppers, spices to your taste and it winds up as a really lovely salsa verde equivalent. Maybe a splash of lemon or lime juice, some cumin or cilantro- improvise to taste. Serve on corn chips or tacos.
B) Fried green tomatoes- soak those green tomatoes sliced overnight in buttermilk, dredge in flour, dunk in egg wash, then cover in panko bread crumbs. Fry in butter. Salt to taste.
C) Put in paper bag with a banana to release ethylene gas, which ripens everything in the bag. Takes a few weeks. As those weeks progress, pick out red ones as they ripen every few days, or you’ll have a mix of green tomatoes and rotten tomatoes. Will they be “off the vine midsummer sweet?” No, but it will be a grocery store tomato equivalent. Remove banana when banana is super ripe and eat or use for banana bread.
posted by slateyness at 9:31 PM on October 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: They can be good as quick pickles. Once they're pickled, they can be used as an ingredient in all kinds of recipe from salads to salsas to mixed in with black beans and rice to provide some brightness.
posted by Candleman at 9:32 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Candleman at 9:32 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
At harvest time, we’ve found ourselves with a pretty even mix of ripe, semi ripe and green tomatoes. We left them on the counter a few days so the ripe ones could help the others a little further along (I like the idea of keeping them all on the vine to bring indoors). Anyway then we froze them all and eventually made sauce as usual. It was an interesting color but tasted great!
posted by Tandem Affinity at 10:05 PM on October 28, 2022
posted by Tandem Affinity at 10:05 PM on October 28, 2022
Best answer: Blackened green tomato salsa, I do it every year! Slice the tomatoes in half and arrange on a baking sheet with halved hot peppers, chunks of onion, and unpeeled garlic cloves; broil until tomatoes are soft and everything has black bits; let cool, and then peel the tomatoes and garlic and blend it all. That’s it! Maybe a little salt. No proportions because I just eyeball it. Imo this is a much nobler use of green tomatoes than half-assed forced ripening.
This is also a great use for half-ripe tomatoes, like ones that have split and won’t ripen fully before they go bad. In that case they might release a lot of water when you broil them - just pour it off and stick them back in.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:10 AM on October 29, 2022 [4 favorites]
This is also a great use for half-ripe tomatoes, like ones that have split and won’t ripen fully before they go bad. In that case they might release a lot of water when you broil them - just pour it off and stick them back in.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:10 AM on October 29, 2022 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Roasted green tomato soup - Chop up the tomatoes & roast them with olive oil, salt & pepper. Put in a pan with some broth (I used "Better than Boullion" roasted garlic.) & spices of your choice (thyme, etc.). When everything is hot & flavors have melded, add a little heavy cream. Use an immersion blender if you don't like it chunky.
posted by belladonna at 4:39 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by belladonna at 4:39 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
A BLT with fried green tomatoes is quite delicious.
posted by rockindata at 5:24 AM on October 29, 2022
posted by rockindata at 5:24 AM on October 29, 2022
Best answer: Green tomato pie! There are lots of sweet versions out there but the goood stuff is the cheesy savory dinner pie version.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:17 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:17 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Nthing fried green tomatoes. They are an iconic southern dish for a reason :)
posted by ananci at 10:26 AM on October 29, 2022
posted by ananci at 10:26 AM on October 29, 2022
They are an iconic southern dish for a reason :)
Yep - because a movie was released about 30 years ago declaring them to be so, before which they were not specifically associated with the South at all! (Just saying)
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:31 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yep - because a movie was released about 30 years ago declaring them to be so, before which they were not specifically associated with the South at all! (Just saying)
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:31 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
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Other than that, I like them in picallilli, which I think has the lowest hassle/nom ratio.
posted by clew at 7:26 PM on October 28, 2022 [1 favorite]