THE SEASON FOR GREEN TOMATOES
As much as I love green tomatoes, they’re a sure reminder that summer is ending. They’re truly the vegetable of the moment.
They also signify that the growing season is wrapping up, that the tomato plenty is over and that fall is near. So we rush to savor each last ripe tomato, and now, each green one. Usually you gather up green tomatoes just before frost, but this rainy summer the plants are weaker and the season’s been cut short.
A green tomato is simply an unripe tomato, not a particular type or variety. Green tomatoes can be picked at any time in tomato season, even at the beginning. But then the goal is ripe, juicy, sunwarmed fruit, so you let the green ones turn red.
Green tomatoes, generally, should be firm and solid green throughout. You can make fried green tomatoes or other dishes with “pink” tomatoes — mostly green with a bit of a blush, for a sweeter flavor. With the weather still warm, green tomatoes will pink up quickly.
Fried green tomatoes are surely the best known green tomato dish. There’s a book and a movie certifying their flour-coated, pan-fried fame. No low-fat shortcuts here. You’ve got to break out the cast-iron skillet to get that crisp-coated result. They’re fried, y’all.
But there are other good things to do with green tomatoes. Having not much flavor when raw, they impart citrusy notes to braised meats or a vegetable sauté, and add a little acidity to a sauce of sweeter, ripe tomatoes. If a recipe calls for ripe tomatoes, add a few green ones for balance.
Cooks have long been using them in the South. For a truly Southern point of view, we talked with John Martin Taylor, the author of three well-received books. Known
as Hoppin’ John Taylor, he owned a cookbook store in Charleston, S.C., and now lives in Savannah, Ga.
“I love the flavor of green tomatoes. I use them in piccalilli (a green tomato relish), chutneys and soups. They really shine in tagines, with chicken, fish or lamb,” he said.
“They were already in common use by the time of Mary Randolph’s 1824 cookbook, “The Virginia HouseWife,” in her ‘Tomata [sic] Marmalade’ — more of a chutney, with salt, pepper, garlic and cloves, and simmered till thick.”
These recipes were fashioned after English marmalades and chutneys, where fruit was cooked with sugar or vinegar and spices, he explained.
Mr. Taylor has lived in China, Bulgaria and other countries. Do they have green tomato traditions? Nope, although in Italy, he was never served a fully ripe red tomato. “I remember serving grilled green tomatoes to friends in Bulgaria and they were surprised.”
Grilling remains his preferred cooking method. “I particularly like to grill softshelled crabs and green tomatoes together — great combination of flavors and textures.”
Great notion, and it’s easier (and lighter) than frying. Here’s how to do it:
Cut cored tomatoes into half-inch-thick slices. Coat both sides with olive oil, sprinkle with salt – no pepper. “Put pepper on at the last minute. Otherwise you get bitter black pepper,” he said.
Grill on a medium-hot fire about 4 minutes per side until marked, and mostly soft but not falling apart. They’re best hot off the grill. Everyone will love them.