The prolific tomato plants on my balcony are still covered
with fruit; little green globes that will not ripen. Perfect for green tomato
chutney and my favorite Ginger Tomatoes, a Pennsylvania Dutch sweet chutney
made from red and green tomatoes, ginger, lemon, cloves and sugar. I attempt to
skin the tiny green spheres by scalding and then chilling them, and have rather
mixed success. Ah well, tomato skins will not ruin the concoction. I have great
jars this year, only 1.5 deciliters, about ¾ cup, with wide mouths. At some
point I must get a jam funnel but for the moment I am relieved not to have to
spoon in the mixture with great care and a small spoon.
The first jar is set aside for my friend Vera, she of the
prolific fig tree. Enjoying the golden light of a perfect October day, I walk
down the hill to her house. She and her husband and one of their grandchildren
are working in the garden, and Vera announces that she needs a break and
invites me for coffee. Good espresso, vermicelles with cream and quince paste
with almonds appear on the table in their winter garden, and we gossip over the
coffee cups. I leave with a jar of their green tomato chutney, different from
mine, figs (!), chestnuts from Ticino and a persimmon. Neither the fig tree nor
the persimmon tree is very large, but both are handsome trees with glossy
leaves. They are also extremely generous, like Vera herself.
If making one’s own jam and chutney is satisfying, sharing
the results with friends is more so. Something about the distillation of one’s
lifestyle, the work of one’s hands, the memory of time spent together, the
richness of life, sharing.
Ginger Tomatoes
Recipe
3 lbs green tomatoes
1 lb red tomatoes
2.5 lbs sugar
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp whole cloves
2 1.5 inch pieces ginger root
Scald the tomatoes, peel and cut into pieces*. Stir in the
sugar, lemons and spices. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat; cook slowly
until mixture thickens. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. Yield: about 8
cups.
* I do not cut cherry tomatoes into pieces, rather mash them
as they cook. Larger tomatoes or a mixture of large and cherry sizes works
best.
The perfect recipe for a California November! I have only about a dozen tomatoes left to harvest; half will be red by the weekend and the rest still green, but it's time to pull the vines down and put in winter vegetables (I'm already a little late with that). Thank you for sharing this!!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome!
DeleteKaren
I made this today! I didn't have any fresh ginger, so I used powdered, and I added allspice and cardomom because I love them, and I only had one lemon, so I added a little balsamic vinegar... Waiting for the jars to cool now, but as I tasted it while cooking it's yummy! What's your favorite way to use it? Around here, a holiday appetizer is to put out cream cheese and empty a jar of jalapeño jelly over it to spread on crackers - I think this might do well to make a somewhat less h-h-hot version.
ReplyDelete