Green Tomatoes

Spokane is exceptionally lovely in the fall, and this fall has been exceptionally lovely, even by Spokane standards. The sky is crystal blue, the air is crisp, and the nights, alas, the nights are cold. As in frosty. Which is, as we all know, very bad for tomato plants. It held off for a good long time, long enough for a few more of my mammoth heirloom tomatoes to ripen to red, purple, and black deliciousness, but as always happens here in the land of the short growing season, frost has found many, many big tomatoes still green on the plant. This used to make me very sad, until I discovered how yummy green tomatoes are. Now I get excited when I get to go out and harvest a big bowl of fruit. Besides, look how beautiful they are!

Given my personal history, I have to start with fried green tomatoes (don't get the joke? Read the book!), although I have to admit that I didn't make these for ages because I wasn't sure if the tomatoes were green because they were unripe, or if it was a special recipe for green heirloom tomatoes. Sometimes a little pretentiousness can be a bad thing. Just to clarify, we are talking unripe tomatoes. Just slice the tomatoes fairly thick, coat in cornmeal or breadcrumbs, and fry in the oil of your choice. I think bacon grease is traditional (it is a southern recipe, after all), but I prefer olive oil. The only hint I have: don't fry them in too hot a pan. You want to give the tomatoes themselves a chance to cook and soften before the coating burns. Otherwise, you are just eating unripe tomatoes. Wild Sage often has a beautiful fried green tomato appetizer, served with crab, bacon, and remoulade (i.e. really good homemade tartar sauce. If if you are going to make tartar sauce at home, shouldn't you get to reward yourself with a fancy french name for it?) Another good reason to go to Wild Sage.

Last year, I had a bumper crop of green cherry tomatoes, so I pickled them. I got this idea from some local pickles I found up at Green Bluff, in the Walter's store. Mine were better -- eventually. Here's what I did: I packed small canning jars with green cherry tomatoes, fresh dill, dried red peppers, and chunks of garlic -- about half a medium sized clove per chunk. I put in a lot of the seasoning agents, since I like my pickles strong and spicy. Then I made up a batch of pickling brine, which involved boiling the following ingredients together for a few minutes:

2 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup water

3 tbls kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbls pickling spice

1 tbls mustard seeds

1 tbls black peppercorns

Once this mixture cooled, I poured it over the tomatoes and then tightened the lids. You don't have to worry about sealing them, because nothing noxious can grow in that much acid. Then, I put them in the refrigerator until Christmas. I tried some earlier, but they weren't pickled yet. In fact, they seemed to reach their height of goodness around May.

The absolute best thing I know how to do with green tomatoes is green tomato curry. I adapted this recipe from my beloved Mangoes and Curry Leaves. It's rich and spicy and easy and so, so good. Really, I like this one a lot.

Ingredients:

2 tbls vegetable oil

1/2 an onion, chopped

2 green serrano peppers, seeded and chopped (unless you like heat, in which case, don't seed them)

6-8 fresh or frozen curry leaves (you can find these frozen at Bollywood on Sprague. They seem to keep eternally in the freezer, and are definitely worth the trip)

1/4 tsp fenugreek, powder or seed

pinch of turmeric

About 2 cups green or blushing tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 tsp salt

1 can coconut milk (which may be high in saturated fats, but is apparently also very high in anti-oxidents, so this is even a healthy recipe!)

Heat the oil, and add onion, chilis, and curry leaves. Cook until onion is soft and the edges have browned. Add everything else but the coconut milk, and cook over medium heat for about fifteen minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down. Add the coconut milk (you might not want to add some of the watery stuff at the bottom of the can if your curry looks too thin). Cook about five minutes, uncovered, or until the curry is thick. It should be the consistency of applesauce, with some chunks still in it.

This stuff is great over rice. It's great next to roasted or grilled meat. It's great with a spoon. I heat up leftovers at work, and people start to stick their noses out of their offices.

A final word: unlike their ripe brethren, green tomatoes freeze. Just put them in ziplock bags, and you can have green tomato curry into the winter. Or, if you lack will power, until about next month.

Any other favorite green tomato recipes out there?