2012 Update: I'm hoping to still be picking ripe tomatoes in my kitchen garden for at least another month, but re-posting this shout out each September 3rd has become an annual Farmgirl Fare tradition. In the sales pitch below are reviews from fans of my super popular No Sugar, Salsa-Like Green Tomato Relish Recipe, which is a tasty, easy way to use up all those green tomatoes still out on the vine. Enjoy! If you'd rather have your tomatoes red, check out How To Ripen Green Tomatoes Indoors the Really Easy Way on my kitchen garden blog. And if your ripe tomatoes are still plentiful, learn How To Make Homemade Pizza Sauce Using Fresh Tomatoes or How To Freeze Tomatoes the Really Easy Way (and Why I Don't Do Much Canning Anymore), which includes links to all my tomato growing posts.
Going green is good—even when it comes to tomatoes.
When the first frost threatens in fall, I pick all the remaining green tomatoes in the garden that I can. Green tomatoes will eventually ripen when stored indoors at room temperature (don't put them in the refrigerator!), although the flavor won't be nearly as nice as vine ripened (learn more about ripening tomatoes indoors here). Of course any homegrown tomato eaten on Thanksgiving or Christmas tastes fantastic, but why not celebrate their greenness instead? I created this no sugar green tomato relish recipe years ago for Kitchen Gardener magazine. It doesn't call for the usual raisins or spices and is really more like a thick salsa. It's easily adaptable to what you have on hand, and there's no blanching or peeling required—you just chop everything up and toss it into a pot. And since it'll keep for several weeks in the refrigerator, canning is optional.
But don't just take my word regarding this recipe. Here's what others have said about it over the years:
More below. . .
—Susan, I just made your relish today in a huge triple batch (in parts, one after another) for all those poor green Russian tomatoes that just didn't quite make it in my too-shady yard. Sometimes we get tomato sauce; this year we got green tomato relish. I canned 9 pint jars and had one for the fridge. We had it tonight on chicken burritos and it was FABULOUS. My whole house smells so good.—Well I'm eating the fruit of my labors yesterday, and it's pretty great. Tonight I'm going to grill some skirt steak and smother them with the relish. Yummy, thanks so much!
—I found this doing an search for green tomato relish, and was happy to find a recipe that did not call for sugar! I was not convinced on the apples, but added them anyway thinking they would help thicken it up. OMG! It is really great. Reminds me of tomatillo salsa.
—Oh...this is such a lovely recipe. My across-the-street neighbour planted tomatoes in my garden (!) and that of my neighbour, and I picked them all yesterday and made this relish. It is DIVINE! I doubled the batch and am thrilled with it.
—Just wanted everyone to know this recipe rocks! I left out the cumin for my kids to try this and it is wonderful!
—My partner and I made a double batch from a huge load of green tomatoes we harvested before last week's frost, and it came out super delicious! We had it on Mexican pizzas Friday night.
—I just wanted to let you know how much we have enjoyed this recipe! A few lucky friends were given a jar in their holiday gift baskets. The consensus is always the same: MAKE MORE!!
—Susan, I make your green tomato relish (I always call it salsa) every year now, ever since you originally posted the recipe... it's a regular fall tradition for me, and it's in my yearly canning routine. It's one of my all time favorites.
—Everyone who has tried this loves it. I think the apples are the secret ingredient.
—I think it will go great with a pork chop or a dollop on some chicken. Thanks for the recipe!
—I saw this recipe earlier this year and it sounded so good that I was actually happy that not all of my tomatoes ripened. The first taste (while still hot—I couldn't wait!) was so delicious, I think I'll be wishing for more green tomatoes next year.
—Food of the gods! I made a batch this weekend, some modification to match my harvest (fewer peppers, some carrots and green beans, a little apple cider, and some turmeric). My life is forever changed! Thank you.
—Wow. This is one beloved recipe.
And my favorite:—I might pick all my tomatoes green from now on.
So don't despair—green just might turn out to be your best-liked color of tomato.
Are you lucky enough to have a ripe tomato glut? You'll find links to some of my favorite tomato recipes at the end of this post.
Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.
© FarmgirlFare.com, the you say green tomato, I say relish them foodie farm blog where one of the best things about blogging is learning that some of my favorite recipes have become yours. Thank you all so much for taking the time to leave comments and let me know.
