Narsai David Food News: Pickled Green Tomatoes

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— There was a time when things like pickled green tomatoes and fried green tomatoes only happened once a year (usually early autumn) when the tomato plant has gotten to the point that it's loaded with green tomatoes and there's simply not enough sunny days left to ripen them.

So what do you do with them? It's simple. Take those green tomatoes and make pickles out of them. You can do the old fashioned kosher dill pickle just as you would with a cucumber, but I tend to go with the more old-fashioned bread and butter pickling process.

Narsai David Food News:

Here Is An Easy Recipe To Make One Gallon:

- 3 small Anaheim peppers, sliced ¼ inch thick
- 4 Onions (about 2 lb) sliced 1/8 inch by 1 inch long
- 2 tsp Celery seed
- 2 TBS Mustard seed
- 1 ½ inch Piece of fresh ginger, finely shredded
- 2 inch Piece of fresh tumeric, finely shredded (or 1 tsp dried powder) [optional]
- ½ tsp Red pepper flakes
- 4 lb Green (unripe) tomatoes, trimmed and sliced ¼ inch thick
- 2 cups Sugar
- 4 cups Cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Toss peppers, onions and spices into a bowl.
Alternate layers of tomatoes and onion spice mix in storage container or jars.
Stir sugar and vinegar together and pour over.

It is not a problem if the sugar does not quickly dissolve, as it will after being poured on the pickles.

NOTE: These pickles are not sterilized. Please do not store at room temperature. They need to be refrigerated.

Narsai David is the KCBS Food and Wine Editor. He has been a successful restaurateur, chef, TV host, and columnist in the Bay Area spanning four decades. You can hear him Saturdays at 10:53am, 12:53pm and 4:53pm, and at 2:53am Sunday on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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