We’ve spent much of the past two Saturdays helping to winterize the farm – pulling up irrigation lines and cleaning beds of lettuce that have gone to seed. As part of the clean up, I’ve been doing a lot gleaning. There is still plenty of usable produce even though the primary commercial harvest is done. And green tomatoes are the most plentiful item that is left as the season winds down.

Perhaps the green tomatoes also caught my eye because they poetically capture something about my current mood – wishing I had just a little more time. It would have been so great to fit in just one more mountain adventure or have prepared a little bit more for that job interview or spent some more time with friends this summer.

But no time for regrets. The mountain of green tomatoes on top of the last ears of corn and eggplant requires me to snap back to the present. (I love cooking for this very reason 🙂 ).

I made two delicious dishes with the tomatoes. A South Indian green tomato stew from this recipe and a batch of my go-to salsa verde. I make this salsa almost ever year with either tomatillos or green tomatoes. You do not need to be very precise and can increase or decrease the quantities depending on the number of green tomatoes left in your garden. It also freezes well. Enjoy!

Salsa Verde

1 lb. of small green tomatoes or tomatillos
½ onion, cut into ½ rounds
3 cloves of garlic, whole
Olive oil
½ bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
1-2 jalapeno or serrano peppers, cut in half and remove the seeds
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 390° F.

Toss the whole tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers in olive oil and transfer to a baking dish. If your tomatoes are bigger than 1 inch in diameter, you should use one baking dish for the tomatoes and another for the onions, garlic, and peppers. Roast for approximately 20-30 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and bursting with liquid. The onions, peppers, and garlic should have some color.

Transfer to food processor or to a bowl and add the cilantro and lime. Use the food processor or an immersion blender to mix until the salsa is smooth. Taste and add salt as needed.