Green Tomato Jam

I've been on a corn kick lately. Fresh corn in salads, gorditas, pupusas, cornbread... I spotted this recipe in a recent issue of Food & Wine — their best new chefs issue. The recipe comes from one of their picks for best new chef this year, Clayton Miller from Trummer's on Main in Virginia. Miller makes hush puppies with this Indian-spiced Green Zebra tomato jam. With honey, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cumin and cayenne, the jam explodes in your mouth and pairs well with cornbread or hush puppies.

Green Zebra tomatos are common at the farmers market. They are light green with dark green stripes and will ripen to a golden green with a mild, tart, sweet flavor. I love to grow them in the garden. Their flavor and color contrast well with the other red and gold tomatoes we usually grow.

Note: this recipe makes plenty. I ended up filling a quart jar. So you could probably cut the recipe in half, if you like. But it keeps well in the fridge because of the cider vinegar and I've found myself finding more and more things to put it on. It's even tasty as a quick Indian sauce on some chicken or veggies and rice. It's refreshing and full of flavor. Nice for this time of year when we're starting to crave more complex fall tastes but it's still too hot in Austin to dive full-on into those dishes just yet.



Green Zebra tomato jam

2 lbs. of Green Zebra tomatoes
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, grated or minced
1-inch cinnamon stick
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cut the tomatoes into a half-inch dice.

Combine tomatoes and other ingredients in a saucepan. Bring up to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer for about 40-50 minutes, until thickens. Stir occasionally.

Let cool to serve. Store covered in the fridge — a glass jar is perfect for this.

Yield: one quart

Adapted from Clayton Miller in Food & Wine, July 2010