The weather is starting to cool, and the growing season for our tomato plants have finally come to an end. We recently cleaned out the garden and took out the tomato plants to make way for whatever else we may decide to plant for the fall. The cherry tomato plant still had a lot of unripe tomatoes though, so rather than just throw them away with the plant, the girls and I decided to pull the fruits off the plant. I wasn't sure what to do with green tomatoes though. I know I probably could have made 'chow-chow', a type of relish made with green tomatoes and green bell peppers, but unlike Manang Kusinera who canned all her tomatoes herself, I don't have the time or patience for canning. So I decided to just find a way to cook with them. I decided to incorporate them into some baked chicken as an experiment, and it turned out quite well. We almost ate the whole thing again before I could take a picture, so Jade took a picture of this sorry looking wing which was all that was left.
The recipe is very simple and quick. My kind of thing, since I don't always have too much time to prepare dinner after I get home from work.
1 whole chicken, cut up into 8-10 pieces
1/2 large onion, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of green cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Place all the ingredients above in a baking pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes and onions have cooked down to a nice consistency. I left the tomatoes whole (I didn't feel like going through the trouble of chopping them up) and it turned out to be a nice surprise. Not only did they impart a nice flavor to the chicken, it was great biting into them afterwards, and tasting the slightly sweet and tart flavor. The kids actually liked it!
Baked Chicken with Green Tomatoes
Posted by JMom | Saturday, October 09, 2004 | chicken | 4 comments »
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Looks like my kind of recipe. Too bad that we don’t have green tomatoes at the Sunday Market here at this time of the year. I’ll keep this recipe in mind and give it a try next year.
That looks so yum-yum!
Out-of-topic, can I have your email address? I would like to invite you to the online community foodblog of Pinoy/Pinay expats at http://kusina-kumon.blogspot.com (name and blogaddress subject to change in the following days). You see, the recipes I post in my personal foodblog are those "success" stories usually. I am hoping that this pinoy community foodblog will make learning and adjusting easier for me and others like me. What better way to do so than to have expert/beterana posters like you? So please, join us. I have a link there for you to give your email addy for the invitation.
Jmom, you're just scratching the "cooking with green tomatoes" surface. Try slicing some into 1/2 inch slices and arrange them in a one, to two inch rectangle pan. Then simply season some chicken parts with lemon pepper, onion powder and ginger powder. Lay the chicken parts on top of the green tomato slices and bake at 385, skin side up, until crispy brown. Another seasoning option for this recipe is to use an inexpensive (meatloaf seasoning mix only) on the chicken, for a different flavor. Trust me, it works very well. After about 35 minutes of baking (2/3 cooking time), add an inexpensive, (MSG)free chicken stock to the pan. With both of these seasoning options, finish it off with whatever sauce/rue/gravy that you like. Then there are the pork roasts, steaks and chops, on the same bed of sliced green tomatoes. All can be seasoned, using the seasoning packs from any inexpensive brand of pork flavored Oriental noodles ie; "Oodles of Noodles" (MSG)free preferred. Bake chops and steaks at 385, covered with foil/lid for the first 35 minutes of baking. Then remove foil/lid, add your favorite broth/liquid and continue baking at 400 uncovered. With the pork roast, put green tomato slices underneath and on top of the roast, in a deep pan/casserole dish, with lid and cook at 430 for at least one and a half hours, or until well done for small ones. Larger roasts will require more time. Again, add favorite broth/liquid about 2/3 the way through cooking time. Green tomatoes can also be used to cook beef roasts, flake fishes and they do something special to smoked sausage, in a skillet, on top of the stove.
ecrumb, you're right! I've only scratched the surface of possibilities for green tomatoes :) I love your suggestions. Thank you!
One other thing I have discovered about green tomatoes.... I processed a batch in the food processor and froze them. I've since incorporated them in various sauces for pasta, made green sauce for enchiladas, and similar to your suggestions, as gravy for roasts :)