There are always jars & jars of pickles in my fridge. Pickled onions, pickled okra, gherkins, dill pickles…the options are endless! I love them as a snack, on salads or sandwiches, and even with a cheeky bit of fried food to cut through the richness. Green tomatoes are another delicious pickle option when you have too many from the garden! They take 15 minutes to make but preserves the green tomatoes for months beyond the last days of sunshine.

Preparation time:

15 minutes + 3 weeks to pickle

Ingredients:

• 6 sprigs of fresh dill
• 3 large garlic cloves
• ½ tsp black or yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• Pinch of chili flakes (optional)
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 Tbl kosher salt
• 6- 8 medium green tomatoes, washed thoroughly

Equipment needed:

• Chef’s knife + cutting board
• Clean, sterilized canning jars + lids
• Mortar & pestle
• Saucepan
• Chopstick

Preparation:

1. Thoroughly wash all ingredients to remove any dirt and debris not to contaminate the canning
2. Wash and cut the green tomatoes horizontally into thin, uniform slices. Remove the stem top
3. Boil vinegar, salt and water mixture until the salt has dissolved
4. Slightly crush the garlic cloves and place at the bottom of the canning jar. Add the dill, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, chili flakes & peppercorns.
5. Stuff as many tomatoes slices as possible into the jar on top of the pickling spices.
6. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the tomatoes and pickling spices until all the ingredients are covered.
7. Take a chopstick and stir the tomatoes until all the air bubbles have been released from the jar bottom of the jar. Tap the jar to make help all the ingredients to settle to the bottom and no parts of the ingredients are exposed to the air.
8. Confirming that the vinegar mixture covers all the ingredients, place the lid on the hot mixture sealing it tightly. Allow cooling on the counter before storing in the refrigerator
9. Allow pickling to happen in the fridge for 3 Tomatoes will be good for at least 3 months.
10. Once open, tomatoes will be good for 2-3 weeks if stored in the fridge.