Scandinavian Pickled Green Tomatoes

Green tomatoes are really hard to find, so the best solution is to grow your own. This will be doubly satisfying if you do. It is important that the skins don’t split while they are cooking. Gardener’s Delight is a really good variety to try- they grow easily, have a great flavour and are unlikely to split while they are cooking. This makes a lot but if you’re going to the trouble. You may as well really go for it.

2.25kg green tomatoes – about an inch in diameter

1.2l malt vinegar

6 cloves

2.5cm cinnamon bark

½ a nutmeg

1tsp salt

450g sugar

600ml white wine vinegar

It’s almost a shame not to grow these to full red ripeness but the boy does love this with a crumbly mature Cheshire cheese.  I’m putting on a CD of Wagner duets as I think an epic recipe deserves an epic soundtrack. Much gentleness is needed for the first part though.

Big pan. Tomatoes and malt vinegar in. I love cooking with malt vinegar. Bring it to the boil then turn off the heat. The kitchen smells of pickling. Drain the tomatoes, but keep the vinegar for making other chutneys or pickles. Do it gently so you don’t break the tomato skins as you do need to discard any whose skins have split. So you now have a colander full of green tomatoes.

Bring the white wine vinegar to the boil with the cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Once it comes to the boil, pour over the tomatoes and leave them for 24 hours. Keep the liquid. The boy thinks this is a complete waste of time. I think a tsp of chilli flakes would work well here so I add them to the hot liquid.

In the morning, pour the liquid into a pan and gently add the tomatoes. Bring the heat up to an almost boil. Fish out the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and put into sterilised jars. Let the liquid turn syrupy and then pour over the tomatoes.

Pour over, making sure the fruit are completely covered. Eventually these hard, sour green things will become soft green fruit. But you need patience. They need to go in the cupboard for 3 months. By this time I will have forgotten them and it will be a nice surprise.