Green Tomato Three Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound green tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 pound fresh green beans, steamed and cut into 1/2 inch sections
• 1/2 pound fresh dragon beans or wax beans, steamed and cut into 1/2 inch sections
• 15 ounces cooked red or kidney beans
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a rapid boil. Add green beans and dragon or wax beans, stir for 30 seconds, and remove from heat. Immediately immerse beans in an ice bath or run under cold water until cool to stop the cooking process.
2. In a large bowl combine green tomatoes, blanched beans, and kidney beans. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl or glass combine lemon juice and olive oil.
4. Pour dressing over beans and add fresh basil. Stir until evenly combined and add salt and pepper.
5. serve at room temperature or chilled.

This recipe can easily be made gluten free by using a gluten-free crust.

Green Tomato Pizza

Ingredients

• 2 medium green tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 small white onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 cup preferred pizza sauce
• 1 12 inch pizza crust
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Preparation

1. Spread sauce on the pizza crust evenly.
2. Arrange green tomato slices, onions, basil, and pepper flakes evenly over the sauce and top with cheese.
3. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes, until crust is slightly brown and cheese has bubbled.
4. Serve immediately.

We prepared this pesto the baked it in the oven on sourdough toast topped with fresh grated Seco cheese from Dos Lunas and ground black pepper. Divine!

Green Tomato Pesto on toast with melted cheese.

Ingredients

• 2 medium green tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, packed
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, onion, and olive oil in a blender and puree on high until smooth.
2. Season with salt to taste.

This gazpacho capitalizes on the best that early summer produce has to offer.

Green tomato gazpacho (Photo:Gabirel Hasser)

Ingredients

• 4 large green tomatoes
• 2 medium cucumbers
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 clover garlic
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 sprig of mint
• 1 medium purple pepper for garnish, diced
• 1/2 small sweet onion for garnish, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Combine green tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, cilantro, and mint in a blender adding enough water to create a smooth consistency.
2. Season soup with salt and pepper to taste
3. Serve garnished with diced purple peppers and onion.

This dish balances the mild sourness of green tomatoes with sweet carrots and basil to create a flavorful spring quiche.

Green Tomato Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 medium purple onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large green tomatoes, diced
• 1 large zucchini, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and saute until onions begin to brown, about five minutes.
2. Add garlic, green tomatoes, and carrots. Cook until tomatoes begin to soften slightly, about two minutes.
3. Add zucchini to the saute and continue cooking until all of the vegetables are tender, three to five minutes. Remove from heat and incorporate the basil. Salt to taste, then set aside.
4. Crack the eggs into a small glass bowl and beat until the yokes and whites are evenly blended.
5. Coat a nine inch pie dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add the vegetable saute into the dish and pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables.
6. Bake at 350 degrees until the eggs have thoroughly set, about 20 minutes.
7. Serve warm with Green Tomato Aji.

This is a recipe is the love child between tomatillo salsa and Peruvian Aji Verde. You can serve it like a Peruvian Aji to add heat and flavor to any dish but it is also mild enough to consume in larger quantities with chips like a typical Tex-Mex salsa.

Green Tomato Ají

Ingredients

• 5 medium green tomatoes
• 1 large jalapeno, seeded
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/4 sweet yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine ingredients in a high-speed blender until thoroughly processed.
2. Serve immediately

Fresh Green Tomatoes

When I see green tomatoes for the first time in the summer I get excited because I know that in a few short weeks I will be slurping up their juicy, well-ripened siblings.  I admit it, I am not the biggest fan of under-ripe fruit like green tomatoes, but for everything there is a season and this is the time of year when one ought to enjoy crisp green tomatoes and dream of things to come.

Part of the reason I have never really developed a taste for green tomatoes is that I also have an aversion to deep frying which is by far the most common preparation. When they are done well, fried green tomatoes are crisp and the oil and batter have infused a little flavor. However, most of the time fried green tomatoes are greasy, limp, and flavorless.

This year we took on the challenge of making a couple of delicious green tomato recipes that go in a different direction. To this end, we came up with Green Tomato Aji and Green Tomato Quiche. Both of these recipes do a great job highlighting the freshness of green tomatoes and uncover their versatility. So, while it is still a far cry from the rapture I expect when I bite in this year’s first ripe red tomato, these green tomato recipes do a good job paving the way.

In Texas there is a narrow window of overlap between the last of the spring fennel and the beginning fresh fig availability. Make the most of this limited season with a vegetarian variation on a classic French dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pound of fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced in to 1/2 inch thick strips
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 pound fresh figs, halved
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Kohlrabi, which means cabbage turnip in Swiss German, is a cruciferous vegetable. The flavor of fresh kohlrabi is mild and light similar to broccoli hearts. It is great raw as in this slaw and is also a fantastic addition to stir fry.

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 large kohlrabi, peeled and grated
• 2 medium green apples, peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, washed
• 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup pecans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

1. Combine kohlrabi and apples and toss with lemon juice. Set aside.
2. In a blender or food processor combine mint, sugar, pecans, and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
3. Combine mint dressing and vegetables. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Kohlrabi Apple Slaw with Mint Pesto

A street vendor's cooler of marcianos in Huanchaco, Peru, where it is always summer.

Here it is! April 26th and the thermostat in Austin, Texas crossed the 90 degree mark all afternoon. I know that people with a calendar in front of them or those who pay attention to the tilt of the Earth might disagree, but I am ready to officially declare summer. May the rainfall be average and the season end before October.

One of my strategies for enjoying summer is to make sure that I have plenty of cool hydrating food and drinks on hand. In Peru unchurned ice creams and frozen fruit juices are very popular year round. These treats, known as marcianos, are usually produced in homes and sold directly out the front door or in coolers around town. Pretty much any fruit can be used to make marcianos, but the most popular appeared to be coconut, maracuya (passion fruit), and strawberry.

To celebrate the beginning of summer we made our own Maracuy y Fresa Marcianos using passion fruit yogurt and fresh strawberries. They are a delicious and healthy way to break in a new popsicle mold and cool off, if only for a little while.