Wondering what to do with green tomatoes? Make a simple roasted salsa verde that turns these bland unripe tomatoes into a flavorful condiment.
I have to say, picking green tomatoes is a depressing way to end the summer. But there was little choice. A couple of early hard frosts killed off our tomato plants. Even worse, we were away on our honeymoon when it happened. When we returned, we scrambled in the dark, filling up baskets and buckets of rescued tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. But hey, I'm not complaining. We got married and spent a few days out of town, neither of which are easy feats for 2020.
Between our wedding and then some time out of town, we were a little distracted from the garden for a couple of weeks. It hadn’t even crossed my mind to prepare for a frost. Yet even if we were home, it likely would have been impossible to save all our plants from many nights of such cold. The most frustrating part is that as I write this, it’s 80 outside, and the low is around 60.
What to do with green tomatoes
What do you do with several pounds of green tomatoes? Well, you could let them ripen until red, which shouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks or so. Keep an eye on them and discard any that turn soft or moldy. This is fine if you have the space to do so and can use them as they’re ready. I don’t have much space in my condo to spread tomatoes everywhere, especially when my dog is known to snag tomatoes within his reach. One year I caught him pulling cherry tomatoes right off the plant!
Of course, you can always try making fried green tomatoes. They’re appealing at first, but I can only eat so many. There’s also green tomato chutney, which I tend to make with the inevitable few green tomatoes we get. It’s a sweet, sour, and spicy condiment that pairs well with cheese and sandwiches. I love it on grilled cheese. But even after canning a few pints of chutney, my dining table was still covered in green tomatoes.
That’s when I got creative. Or do I mean desperate? I already made roasted red tomato salsa, so why not try a green one? Green salsa, or salsa verde, is a popular Mexican salsa that is usually made with tomatillos. Since my tomatillo plant never produced, and I was drowning in green tomatoes, I figured it was a substitution worth trying.
What is salsa verde?
Traditional salsa verde is like other green sauces, such as Italian pesto or Argentinian chimichurri sauce. It’s usually a thin salsa used as a condiment on anything from enchiladas to eggs. In this recipe, I roast the ingredients to help bring out some flavor because green tomatoes don’t taste like much on their own. I also use a mix of jalapenos and poblanos for spice and earthiness. You can use all jalapenos if you like a spicier salsa or use all poblanos if you don’t.
This roasted salsa verde is a thicker, more common style of salsa and not that much like the salsa verde you might know from restaurants. But if that’s what you’re looking for, all you have to do is keep pulsing it in the food processor and add water until it’s thinned out a bit.
📖 Recipe
Roasted Salsa Verde
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 ½ cups 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Wondering what to do with green tomatoes? Make a simple roasted salsa verde that turns these bland unripe tomatoes into a flavorful condiment.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds green tomatoes
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 jalapeno peppers
- 2 poblano peppers
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Instructions
Preheat your oven’s broiler to high and place an oven rack as close to the broiler as possible. Now get a baking sheet and line it with foil.
Halve the tomatoes by slicing from end to end. Then cut out the core. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet, cut side up. Slice the onion into ½ inch rounds and place the slices on the baking sheet with the tomato. Put the baking sheet under the broiler and cook for about 10-12 minutes or until everything is well charred. Use a spatula to transfer the cooked vegetables to the bowl of a food processor.
Halve the jalapenos and poblanos, remove the seeds and place these on the now-empty baking sheet. Crush the garlic with the back of a knife, remove the skins and add the garlic to the peppers. Broil for 5-10 minutes until charred, then transfer to the food processor.
Add the cumin, oregano, salt, lime juice, sugar, and cilantro to the food processor with the vegetables. Pulse several times until everything is well-chopped and looks the consistency of a thick salsa. It shouldn’t take long. Pour the salsa into a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste and add any additional salt, sugar, spices, or cilantro to your liking.
For short term storage, allow the salsa to cool, pour into jars and refrigerate for up to a month.
For long term storage, prepare a water bath and 4 half-pint jars. Funnel the hot salsa into warm, sanitized jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Use a chopstick to poke out any air bubbles. Wipe the rims, apply the rings, and process in the boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Let the jars cool for 10 minutes in the water before removing. Check the seal of the lids after 24 hours. Refrigerate any jars that didn’t seal or any extra salsa.
If you’re unfamiliar with canning, first consult a reliable resource to familiarize yourself with the process. The Ball Canning site has some helpful guides.
Notes
You can use bell peppers in place of the poblanos, if needed.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Broiling
- Cuisine: Mexican
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