end of the season

One of Les Gourmettes Cooking School’s longtime students, Marilyn, brought in a huge box of green tomatoes to share with the class. I brought home a couple of pounds of them myself. My lone remaining tomato plant yielded the three tomatoes with the stems that you see in the photo below.

I’ve posted the recipe for fried green tomatoes previously, so this time I’m turning them into the deli delicacy – pickled green tomatoes. If you love these crunchy, thick-walled, salty, sour, spicy treats as I do, just wait until you see how easy they are to make at home. If you want to learn a little more about the fried tomato recipe, it pairs really well with a fresh feta salad, especially during the BBQ season.

This “refrigerator pickle” technique is basically foolproof. No lengthy temperature-critical fermentation and no sterile canning (although the jars and lids need to be cleaned with boiling water first). And they must be kept refrigerated. The best part is that the refrigerator pickled green tomatoes remain crunchy. Pasteurized pickled green tomatoes get mushy.

It is important that the tomatoes are firm and completely green, with no bits of orange or red and no mushy green tomatoes! I have labeled four of the jars and will be giving them as Christmas gifts.

Pickled Green Tomatoes

2 cups distilled white vinegar
2 cups water
6 tablespoons kosher salt
2 pounds of firm green tomatoes
2 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled then sliced in half
5 tablespoons dried dill weed or seed
5 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 1/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Equipment:
5 pint-size canning jars with lids, sterilized by submerging in boiled water

Make the brine by combining the vinegar, water, and salt in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir until the salt is dissolved, cover, and keep hot.

Divide the garlic, dill weed, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes evenly between the sterilized jars.

Thoroughly wash the tomatoes and slice them into wedges. Cut out any bad spots and cut off the stem ends. Tightly pack into the jars, leaving about 1/2 to 3/4-inch of space at the top.

Pour the hot brine over the tomatoes to within 1/4-inch of the top. Wipe the jar top clean and put the lids on tightly. Shake to distribute the spices. Refrigerate for at least 4 days before serving. Use within 4 to 5 weeks.

Makes five 1 pint jars

Marilyn, thank you for sharing your garden’s bounty!