Ah…summertime is the time for fresh tomatoes. If you are growing your own tomatoes, you maybe have gotten some ripe ones, but have a lot that are still green, especially in the northern climates. Why not just grab some of the unripened orbs and treat yourself to some yummy grilled green tomatoes!
They are really easy to prepare. I topped them with a salad made from cilantro and scallions, slivered almonds, toasted bread and sliced jalapeno, finished with a small dab of sour cream. A flavor explosion for your mouth! You may want to make your own salad for this. Some arugula with cilantro would be great. Toasted hazelnuts would be good too. Hey…you really don’t need a recipe for this. Experiment with ingredients…it’s all good with grilled green tomatoes!
My grilled green tomatoes were done on my stovetop in my Lodge grilling pan, but the best way to grill them would be on a charcoal or gas grill outdoors. You could fix some of these for a side dish to whatever meat you are grilling. It would be perfect with some grilled chicken or pork tenderloin. Served alone, is makes a perfect light lunch.
Making Grilled Green Tomatoes
To prepare the tomatoes for the grill, just cut into slices about 1/2 inch thick, brush both sides with olive oil, and lightly salt and pepper them. Grill each side for 3 to 4 minutes. That’s it!
For the salad, I first tore up 2 slices of whole grain bread, lightly coated it with olive oil, put it on a baking sheet and into a 400° oven for about 8 minutes. I turned the pieces over after about 4 minutes. While the bread was toasting, I tore off a big handful of cilantro leafs, coarsely chopped them, and put them in a medium sized bowl. Then chopped up 3 green onions, sliced 1 jalapeno pepper and added a small handful of slivered almonds. Then I just drizzled about a tablespoon of olive oil on the salad and added salt and pepper. Once the bread was toasted, that was folded in.
Plate the grilled green tomatoes, add a dab of sour cream, and top with the salad. This is a great way to enjoy the fruits of summer.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Grilled Green Tomatoes
- 2 or 3 medium green tomatoes , cored and sliced to 1/2 inch
- extra virgin olive oil
- sour cream
- salt and pepper
Salad
- 2 slices hearty bread , torn and toasted
- 1 cup cilantro , coarsely chopped
- 3 scallions , chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper , sliced
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds , (or toasted whole almonds, coarsely chopped)
- 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Salad
- Remove crust from bread, tear into small pieces and coat with olive oil.
- Toast bread pieces in a 400° on a baking sheet for 8 minutes turning the pieces over after 4 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool.
- Put coarsely chopped cilantro, scallions, jalapeno pepper, and almonds into a medium sized bowl.
- Sprinkle with 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix.
- Add the cooled toasted bread and stir to mix
- Add salt and pepper to taste
Grilled Green Tomatoes
- Brush the sliced tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place on hot grill pan, (or gas/charcoal grill) and sear for 3 to 4 minutes
- Sear the other side of the tomatoes 3 to 4 minutes
- Plate 3 or 4 slices of tomatoes per plate, dab each slice with sour cream and top with salad
This is a great appetizer, or it could even make a very nice light lunch.