For years I couldn’t get my tomato planting right and would either plant too early, resulting in frost bite from a rogue chill or too late and fall the victim to an early Fall chill. Finally my dear friend Phil Goldman, whose 70+ years of gardening advice I cherish, gave me the tip to plant on Mother’s Day weekend. Since then that is my gauge and my tiny tomato garden thrives with bunches of tomatoes every year — so much that I found myself giving away tomatoes in August because the vines are busting with fruit.
My solution for taming the tomato garden became to eat some of them green earlier in the season. Fried green tomatoes, green tomato bisque and green tomato salsa are all perfect for this. Chunky and blended with poblano pepper, garden stock and vinegar along with your favorite seasonings, this sauce will enhance any dish from grilled fish or veggie burgers to crispy chips.
4 Green tomatoes, blanched and peeled
1 poblano pepper, roasted and deveined
1 clove of garlic
1 small white onion
1/4 teaspoon of toasted cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon of Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of agave syrup
1 tablespoon of de-stemed, chopped cilantro
1/4 cup of EVOO
1/4 cup of Seasonedfork Garden Stock
First, place tomatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes and remove. Place in bowl and cover with plastic to sweat. Once cooled, peel the skin and remove the top of the core. Set aside.
Then roast your fresh poblano pepper or hydrate a dry one known as chile Ancho
If fresh, place whole on a grill or directly on stove-top and safely supervise while charring and turning. Then place in bowl and cover with plastic to sweat. Once it has cooled, devein by removing seeds and veins and set aside. If dry, place 1 large one or 2 small ones in water in the morning until they have softened. Remove from water for use in blending. You may save the water for more heat in processing.
In a food processor, add all the ingredients except for one tomato and pulse until desired texture is achieved. Pulse more for smoother salsa and less for chunky. If too thick, drizzle in more garden stock, if too thin, add the other tomatoe(s).
Taste for salt and adjust accordingly.
Serve in a decorative bowl at the dinner table and use as a garnish for burgers, fish or steak too.
