Pomodori Verdi - Green Tomato Sauce

I love working with green tomatoes since they are not very popular here on the west coast. Most farms and markets don't pick them early. The majority enjoy waiting for their full red brightness and sweet flavor. I spied a Green tomato sauce that looked really good that I adapted by adding a bit of dried herbs and spices. The sauce was for a final recipe called Pomodori Verdi which was a spaghetti that used this sauce topped with 2 tablespoons freshly grated  Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I was able to contact my local farm and request 5 lbs or so of green tomatoes. Julie who is the general manager had them waiting for me on the CSA share day and I was off to make this sauce.

The flavor of the sauce is tangy but the herbs help to mellow the result. You could change up the dried spices by using a combination including oregano or maybe rosemary as long as you use the same measurements as the recipe. I will be making the spaghetti for dinner tomorrow night and will post more information about the combination with the cheese and pasta. My husband and I tried the sauce in the pot with a bit of garlic bread and we both thought it was really tasty.

Green Tomato Sauce

5 lbs green tomatoes (not tomatillos)
1 T. dried basil
1/2 t. granulated garlic
1 t. salt
pepper

Preparation: Prepare 4  pint jars, lids, and rings. Sterilize the jars and keep them in the hot water till it’s time for processing. Make sure to fill your water bath canner and get the water to a simmer. Peel and core the green tomatoes.

Cooking: In a large stainless steel or enameled dutch oven cook the green tomatoes(i didn't even cut them up) with 1 cup of water slowly for 45 minutes using medium heat, stirring occassionally. Once the tomatoes break down you will transfer the tomatoes to a blender or using an immersion blender pulse the tomatoes until smooth. At this point you can run the tomatoes through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. (I choose to leave them). Now add your herbs and spices and stir them into the pot bringing the sauce to a boil for 5 minutes,stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Filling the jars:  On a dishtowel place your hot jars and using your funnel in each jar fill  leaving  1/2”  headspace.  To each jar add 1/4 t. of citric acid or 1 T. bottled lemon juice. (I used citric acid for this recipe as to not add more tartness).  Taking a clean papertowel wet it with warm water and wipe the rims of the jars removing any food particles that would interfere with a good seal. Using your magic wand extract the lids from the hot water and place them on the now cleaned rims. Add your rings to the tops of each of the jars and turn to seal just "finger tight".

Processing: Make sure your rack is on the bottom of the canner and place the jars in the water bath making sure that the water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if it doesn't measure up. Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start your timer for 35 minutes. When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover and let the jars sit for another few minutes. Remove the jars and place them back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not touch or move them till the next morning.

Sealing: Sometime in the next hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping" noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal.