This Romanian green tomato pickle recipe is an easy way to can green tomatoes. These pickles are delicious, economical, and full of vitamins.
I love to see these large jars of Romanian pickled green tomatoes on the shelves in the cellar; they really are my favorite pickles.
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What to do with green, unripe tomatoes?
How about all those unripe green tomatoes that will not get ripe this summer? If you have ever kept your own tomato plants in the garden, balcony, or greenhouse, you know what I am talking about.
So what to do with them? Make these Romanian green tomato pickles, of course; it would be such a shame to just throw them away. Or you could slice and put green tomatoes on the grill.
So after preserving horseradish and making watermelon rind jam, pickling sweet zucchini, and making zacusca, I thought I would make my favorite pickles: green tomato pickles.
Recipe ingredients
Green, unripe tomatoes: These are the ones that won't ripen before fall arrives. I tend to pickle small to medium-sized tomatoes for canning and slice and fry or grill their larger companions.
I had about 2 kg/ 4.5 lbs. However, you can use as many as you happen to have. Make enough pickling liquid (calculating the water-salt ratio) and discard the rest of it; if it is too much, it's just water with salt.
Additional vegetables: They are optional but always nice. I add horseradish root for the flavor, celeriac, and carrots for the crunch. Cauliflower florets are great as well.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make Romanian pickled tomatoes?
- Step #1: Prepare the vegetables: Peel and chop the vegetables: horseradish, celeriac, and carrots.
- Step #2: Place some of the horseradish stripes on the bottom of the prepared jars. Start adding tomatoes, alternating some carrot slices, celeriac cubes, celeriac leaves, more horseradish stripes, garlic cloves, and bay leaves in between.
- Step #3: Sprinkle some mustard, dill seeds, and black peppercorns in each jar.
- Step #4: Boil water and salt for 3-4 minutes. Let cool slightly, not longer than 3-4 minutes. If it gets too cool, reheat it. The liquid should be very hot but not boiling.
- Step #5: Carefully pour the hot pickling liquid into the jars. Wait for 1 minute, then pour more liquid if necessary. The vegetables must be completely covered with pickling liquid. Seal the jars very well.
- Step #6: Process in a boiling water bath or canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
How to store pickled green tomatoes?
Store the jars with Romanian green tomato pickles in a dark, cool place.
Leave the Romanian pickles for 4 weeks before you start eating them.
Once you open a jar, keep it in the fridge.
They will last at least over the winter, so about 4-6 months.
How to serve?
In Romania, green tomato pickles are served as a side dish for many dishes in the winter months.
I've always been a fan of pickles, and this recipe has always been my favorite; I could eat the pickles every day, either at breakfast with bread and cheese or as a side dish for several kinds of dishes like:
- Romanian Beef and Pork Meatballs or Zucchini Beef Meatballs with mashed potatoes, for instance.
- Polenta dishes like these Polenta and Cheese Balls with Sausages or this Moldavian Stew - Tochitura.
- Pork Stew or Hungarian Beef Stew.
Romanian Green Tomato Pickles
Ingredients
- 2 kg green tomatoes 4.5 lbs, Note 1
- 2 thick carrots optional, Note 2
- 200 g celeriac 7 oz, optional
- some celeriac leaves from the celeriac
- 150 g fresh horseradish root 5.5 oz
- garlic cloves about 3-4 per jar
- bay leaves about 2-3 per jar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon dill seeds
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 3 liters water 12 ½ cups
- 4 tablespoons coarse salt without iodine
Instructions
- Sterilize the jars. For more information on sterilizing jars, check out the Apricot Jam Recipe.
- Prepare vegetables: Wash the green tomatoes. Peel and thickly slice the carrots. Peel the celeriac and cut it into cubes about the size of the carrot slices. Clean the celeriac leaves as well. Peel the horseradish, wash it thoroughly, and cut it into finger-thick stripes, about as thick and long as the little finger.2 kg green tomatoes/ 4.5 lbs + 2 thick carrots + 200 g celeriac/ 7 oz + some celeriac leaves + 150 g fresh horseradish root/ 5.5 oz
- Assemble the jars: Place some of the horseradish stripes on the bottom of the prepared jars. Start adding the green tomatoes, alternating some carrot slices, celeriac cubes, celeriac leaves, more horseradish stripes, garlic cloves and bay leaves in between. Sprinkle some mustard, dill seeds, and black peppercorns in each jar.garlic cloves + bay leaves + 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds + 1 tablespoon dill seeds + 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- Boil salted water: Bring the water and the salt to a boil. Let boil for 3-4 minutes. Let cool slightly, not longer than 3-4 minutes. If it gets too cool, reheat it.3 liters water/ 12½ cups + 4 tablespoons coarse salt without iodine
- Add pickling liquid: Carefully pour the hot pickling liquid into the jars. Wait for 1 minute for the liquid to set in the jar, and add more liquid if the tomatoes are not completely covered with pickling liquid. Seal the jars very well.
- Process in a boiling water bath or canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
- Leave the pickles for four weeks before you start eating them. Once you open a jar, keep it in the fridge.
Notes
- Green, unripe tomatoes: These are the ones that won't ripen before fall arrives.
- The extra vegetables are optional but nice for the flavor and variety. I also like to add cauliflower florets.
Mary H Mullins says
Will give it a try. No vinegars used like other pickles...
Adina says
Glad to hear it. It is a traditional Romanian recipe, which doesn't use vinegar.
Laura Dembowski says
Nothing wrong with eating green tomatoes. Love that you turned them into pickles.
Evi @ greenevi says
I love pickling! Last year I also had a few unripe tomatoes at the end of summer and had to pickle them. It was only a quick pickling method, so I definitely want to try your (proper) version this year, sounds really great! Also that you pickle celeriac, such a great idea, never tried it before…
Kate @ Framed Cooks says
Hi Adina! I usually use green tomatoes to make fried green tomatoes, but I am definitely going to give these pickled ones a try! Happy end of summer. 🙂
Monica says
This is so interesting. I've never pickled anything in my life and doing it for green tomatoes sounds like a great idea. Speaking of green tomatoes, do you ever fried them? (In the US, fried green tomatoes is a specialty in the South...we just tried them on vacation and it was sensational)!
Sissi says
Lovely pickles! I also love preserved green tomatoes (I make green tomato & chilli jelly and green tomato salad, both are delicious and I would never replace the green tomatoes with red ones; they are simply different in texture and taste and not better in these cases.
It's funny that people think green tomatoes are poisonous!
It's nice to see what other people preserve... I am also in the middle of preserving season 🙂