My husband grew a bumper crop of Roma tomatoes this year. I’ve made several batches of marinara sauce, chili sauce, and one HUGE batch of salsa. Some of the tomatoes didn’t quite have time to ripen though so I’ve used an old favorite recipe to preserve them — Green Tomato Mincemeat. I’ve adapted this recipe for a more paleo version from the Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook of 1937. It’s simple but amazingly delicious.
In the past I’ve used either olive oil or butter, and either vinegar or lemon juice. This time I replaced the sugar with maple syrup, which allows me to use ¾ of the sugar content and still retain the tangy sweetness.
I prefer Granny Smith apples, but I’m sure any good cooking apple would work. I made a double batch the first time with vinegar, instead of lemon juice, and it tasted great. Today I made a triple batch and used lemon juice.
Green Tomato Mincemeat
Ingredients
- 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples
- 2 cups chopped green tomatoes
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup dark raisins
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon mace (nutmeg is an acceptable substitute)
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ tablespoon tapioca flour or cornstarch (optional)
- ¼ cup butter
Directions
- Mix all ingredients together in a large pot, except butter and tapioca (or corn) starch.
- Bring to a boil gradually over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Simmer about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- Stir together tapioca flour or cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water and stir into the sauce.
- Simmer another 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in butter.
- Cool and use, or pour into freezer containers to store in the freezer.
Melora Johnson's Muse 