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You are here: Home / Recipes / Dairy-free / Salsa verde with green tomatoes and the illusion of control

Salsa verde with green tomatoes and the illusion of control

by Jeanne Horak on October 24, 2013 19 Comments in Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Sauces & dips, Vegan, Vegetarian

SalsaVerdeTitle © J Horak-Druiff 2013

In New York City, as in most cities throughout the world, there are thousands of traffic lights at intersections with pedestrian crossings, all fitted with buttons for pedestrians to press so that the light will go green for them.  Hour after hour, day in and day out,  tens of thousands of pedestrians do in fact press these buttons and wait for the lights to change so that they can cross safely.  But in the late 1980s, New York City overhauled their traffic light system so that it became controlled and co-ordinated by centralised computer systems.  At the stroke of an administrative pen and the flick of a switch, all those buttons on the traffic lights were rendered obsolete.  And yet, every day thousands of people (even native New Yorkers who are perfectly aware of the automation) stand at the lights and push the buttons as they wait to cross.  It is as if the fact that they can push a button gives them a feeling of control over the amount of time that they wait, and that the wait is therefore less of a burden.

We human being love being in control, whether it’s in control of our emotions (nobody really *wants* to sob in public); in control of our children; in control of our finances; or simply in control of the television remote control.  Even when we are patently not in control, we tend to overestimate the amount of control that we have over a situation – and it’s a well-documented natural human tendency that has been named the illusion of control.   Ever seen those open and close buttons on underground train doors?  Ever tried pressing one?  You’ll find that the do nothing (the doors are – sensibly – controlled by the driver) – but damn, it makes you feel better because for a second you forget that you are in a metal tube a few dozen metres below the surface of the earth and feel in control of your environment.  Ditto the “close doors” button on elevators. On a positive note, patients who believe themselves to have control over their own capacity to get heal fare better than those who don’t. But unfortunately the illusion of control is  also what gives some stock market traders an inflated idea of their degree of control over the markets, leading to small inconveniences like the global financial crisis; or makes compulsive gamblers think that they can influence the outcome of a game of pure chance.

 

GreenTomatoes2 © J Horak-Druiff 2013

 

Earlier this year, Mr Cooksister acquired an allotment.  It was a disheveled patch of earth covered liberally in stinging nettles and thorny brambles, and inches below the surface was a treasure trove of 100% authentic London trash – building rubble, shards of brown pottery jugs, mangled bits of metal – you name it. Let’s just say it was not prime agricultural land.  But, armed only with a spade, a pickaxe, a hoe and a strimmer, he set to work weekend after weekend and within a month, he had not only cleared the plot but also started digging neat rows of beds and planting seeds.  When I visited a month or so after that, I was just astonished at the order that he had wrought out of the chaos: rows of tomatoes rubbed shoulders with a bed of asparagus, which was bordered by two rows of squashes and so forth.  A small miracle.  Nick had assumed control of the situation and all was well in the world.  But as every farmer will tell you, when it comes to growing things, control is an illusion.  Of course you can carefully prepare a bed, fertilise the soil, tend and water the plants – but you can’t control the weather. After a late start, this year’s summer was quite exceptional – hot and wonderful.  But in September it turned suddenly damp and rainy, providing the exact conditions in which tomato blight spores germinate.  Having had personal experience of blight in our own garden, Nick knew it was not a case of if tomato blight would strike, but rather when.  First came the unhappy yellow leaves, then the black spots on the foliage and finally the shrivelled patches on the fruit themselves. So much for control.

The end result was that probably about two thirds of our tomato crop had to be picked green and stored in  cardboard boxes in our conservatory in the hope of ripening them. Surprisingly, tomatoes ripen rather well on the vine in dark, dry cardboard boxes, but we still had far more tomatoes than we could use.  Some of the green tomatoes went into my spicy green tomato and apple chutney but we had to find another way of using the remainder.  A meal at a Mexican restaurant a couple of weeks ago sparked an idea – why not salsa verde?  Traditionally, this is made with tomatillos, but the high acid and tart flavour of green tomatoes make them a perfectly acceptable substitute.  The recipe Nick used was a slightly tweaked version of this one, and it was a learning curve in terms of the canning process – but in the end it was less complicated than I feared and it means that now we have 8 jars of salsa verde in the pantry to enjoy all year round.  Phew – the illusion of control is restored!

 

SalsaVerdeFinal © J Horak-Druiff 2013

 

More ideas for using up your green tomatoes include:

  • David’s green tomato & apple chutney
  • Kalyn’s oven-fried green tomatoes with sriracha ranch sauce
  • Robin’s polenta topped with fried green tomatoes and roasted red pepper sauce
3.0 from 2 reviews
Salsa verde with green tomatoes
 
Print
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
45 mins
Total time
1 hour 15 mins
 
This easy recipe for salsa verde uses green tomatoes in place of tomatillos and is a great way to use up those stubbornly unripe end-of-season tomatoes.
Author: Jeanne Horak-Druiff
Recipe type: Condiment
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: about 6 x 250ml jars
Ingredients
  • about 1.2 kg (7 cups) chopped,  cored and peeled green tomatoes (Nick added 3 or 4 slightly ripe tomatoes too)
  • 4 chillies of your choice (hot or mild) deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 large onions, chopped finely
  • 4 cloves garlic,  chopped finely
  • 125ml cup lime juice
  • about 250ml finely chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp finely ground black pepper
  • preserving jars (we used a couple of 250ml Kilner jars and 4 recycled jars of about 200ml each)
Instructions
  1. To skin the tomatoes, immerse them in boiling water for about 20 seconds or until you see the skin split, then remove from the water and peel the skin off before chopping.
  2. Place the tomatoes, chilli peppers, onion, garlic and lime juice in a large pot ad bring to the boil.  Once it is boiling, stir in the chopped coriander leaf, spices, salt and pepper.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Nick also used a potato masher to break up any remaining larger chunks.
  3. In the meantime, sterilise your jars. Wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water, then place the jars in a cold oven and set the temperature to 160C.  Once the oven reaches 160, the jars are ready to use.  Boil the lids for 5 minutes in a saucepan of water on the stove (NOTE: Kilner lids do not want to be boiled - just place them in a bowl of very hot (80 Celsius) water till you are ready to use them.)
  4. Using an oven mitt, carefully remove a glass jar from the oven and ladle the hot salsa into it, leaving about 1cm between the surface of the salsa and the rim of the jar. Make sure to remove any air bubbles, then wipe the rim clean of any sauce and then put the lid on the jar and tighten.
  5. While you are filling the jars, set a very large stock pot (or a canner) of water to boil and place a small metal trivet in the bottom of the pot. When all the jars are filled and closed, carefully lower them upright into the boiling water (I used braai/barbecue tongs as the bottles were still very hot). Once all the jars are in, there should be at least 2.5cm of water over the top of the lids.
  6. Boil for 20 minutes then carefully remove the jars and allow to cool.  After 24 hours, check the seals - if the centre of the lid can "pop" up and down when pressed, the the jars have NOT sealed properly and should be re-boiled.
  7. Store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.
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  1. Simone says

    October 24, 2013 at 10:55 am

    Lol.. glad you seem to have regained control over the allotment bounty Jeanne… Now if only the cats would follow that same control thingie right? 😉 but love the idea of this salsa verde. Aren’t green tomatoes supposed to be poisonous though? I think someone told me that once…

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 30, 2013 at 4:37 pm

      Control over CATS?! Hah – I know you are joking because you own cats. Control and cat are not words that belong in the same sentence! It’s an urban myth that green tomatoes are poisonous! The LEAVES and STEMS of the tomato plant can give you an upset tummy, but green tomatoes are exactly the same chemical make-up as ripe tomatoes. Think of fried green tomatoes – if they were poisonous, half the American South would be dead 😉

      Reply
  2. Herschelian says

    October 24, 2013 at 11:35 am

    Hi Jeanne – your devoted readers should be aware that two very different types of Salsa Verde exist. The Mexican type, which is what you are writing about, and the Italian type which is very different. I have made ‘Italian’ Salsa Verde for years but when staying with my daughter and son-in-law in San Francisco a year or so ago they introduced me to the Mexican sauce as they are mad about Mexican food. If you want my ‘Italian’ recipe I’ll happily send it to you – I make it so often as it is an incredibly useful sauce and keeps well in the fridge.
    BTW – well done Nick for licking an allotment into shape – I have several London ‘lottie’ owning friends, and one thing I have learnt from them is beg, borrow or scrounge old carpet or carpet off-cuts, it is perfect for smothering weed growth through the winter. Zai jian!

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 30, 2013 at 4:42 pm

      Ni hao! Good point – this is indeed the Mexican variety – as opposed to the pan-European variety (which is no less delicious!). Same-same but different 😉 Would love your recipe, seeing as we are on a make-your-own kick this year. Nick is a changed man since the allotment – I think the sense of Man Conquers Wilderness does wonders for the male psyche… 😉 He has some carpet but also found that the chopped up dried bramble branches make pretty good pathways. We are looking forward to harvesting kale through the winter (or as long as we can make it last, anyway!)

      Reply
  3. Katie Bryson says

    October 24, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    Sadly we’ve not had any home grown tomatoes this year so I shall just have to drool over your stunning pictures instead 😉

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 30, 2013 at 4:42 pm

      Thank you! I think next year we will try growing more heritage varieties & pruning more aggressively to try and ripen them before blight strikes…

      Reply
  4. [email protected] says

    October 24, 2013 at 2:12 pm

    Ouch! sorry to hear the weather played havoc. But, well, if not for that, you would not have salsa verde at your whim 😉 All is well… 😀

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 30, 2013 at 4:43 pm

      I know – roundabouts and swings 😉

      Reply
  5. Jonker - Firefly says

    October 25, 2013 at 9:54 am

    I’ve never really been big on salsa for some reason but that spicy green tomato and apple chutney sounds like just the thing.

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 30, 2013 at 4:43 pm

      Oh it’s seriously good! It *really* does taste like the Mrs Ball’s original flavour! And it’s really not hard to make.

      Reply
  6. Franglais kitchen, Nazima says

    October 27, 2013 at 10:29 pm

    I have to say I love green salsa too but this chutney is such a great idea. We don’t have an allotment but started a few home grown plants and herbs this year but hoping for some more success next year. Though I now have some good inspiration for any tomatoes that fail to go red!

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 30, 2013 at 5:11 pm

      The year I discovered what tomato blight was, was the first year I made that chutney and it’s been one of the most useful recipes in my repertoire!

      Reply
  7. Taste Gourmesso espresso says

    October 28, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    Such a nice autumn recipe suggestion! Looks (and I suppose tastes) delicious! Thanks for posting!

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 30, 2013 at 5:11 pm

      My pleasure 🙂

      Reply
  8. Rosa says

    October 30, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    So true… People are obssessed with control. Oh, I wish I had an allotment. A wonderful salsa!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      October 30, 2013 at 5:12 pm

      Aren’t they just?? But the more you try to control life, the more unhappy you will be! Glad you like the recipe 🙂

      Reply
  9. Kit says

    October 31, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    Love those observations on traffic light buttons. I always press them and it does make you feel better. Thinking of installing a button by my computer that I can press any time life starts getting away from me. Just to make me feel better.
    So impressed with Nick’s garden achievements – nettles and brambles would have been enough to deter me from even starting.

    Reply
  10. Dawn Leslie says

    January 13, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    I tried making green tomato salsa verde this year and followed a recipe like this one, found it bitter and inedible, finally threw it out which I hate to do. I made green tomato chutney too and like it very much but it does not have that awful bitter back of throat taste like the salsa. Wondering if it’s just a matter of taste or if I did something wrong in the cooking?

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT