CoHiGreen Fresh Produce Recipes
Here’s how some of our volunteers are eating their garden greens!
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Tomatillo Salsa
Tomatillos are nightshades and their flavor is slightly tart and similar in texture to a tomato. Fresh tomatillos are slightly sticky from their husk, which should be removed before washing and storing to prolong freshness
Ingredients
- 1 pound Tomatillos husked
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 num Serrano/jalapeno seeded
- 1/4 Yellow Onion chopped
- 1/4 cup Cilantro
- 1 tsp kosher salt regular can be used
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/4 tsp cumin optional
Instructions
- Add the tomatillos, garlic, chiles, onion, cilantro, and salt into a blender. Blend until it has a smooth consistency.
- In a saucepan on medium-low heat, heat up the oil. Pour the blended salsa into the pan and cook while occasionally stirring for 10 minutes.
- Taste the salsa and add salt and adjust the seasonings. Can serve hot or cold.
Creamy Green Chile-Avocado Salsa
This is another salsa recipe using tomatillos
Ingredients
- 2 long green chiles Hatch or Anaheim
- 1/2 pound tomatillos husked
- 1 avocado peeled, pitted, cut in half
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Roast the chiles and tomatillos under the broiler until blackened on both sides, about 10-12 minutes, turning once. Once blackened, place the chiles in a paper sack or plastic food-storage bag, close it tight and let the chiles steam for 20 minutes. Place the tomatillos in a blender.
- After the chiles have steamed, remove from the bag and rub off the skin. Remove the stems and seeds from both the chiles and add to the blender.
- Add the avocado, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and water to the blender. Puree until smooth, then add salt to taste (I usually start with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt). If too thick, feel free to thin it with more water.
Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa
This is super fast, very yummy, and made with almost entirely garden produce!
Ingredients
- 8-10 medium tomatillos
- 1/2 avocado more if you feel like it
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 onion
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper more if you want it spicier
- 1 bunch of cilantro or parsely if you're like me and cilantro tastes like soap
- 1 squeeze lemon juice
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Put everything except the salt in the blender and process until smooth.
- Then salt to taste; I actually found I didn't need much salt.
- It'll keep for about 3 days in the fridge and makes 1 cup of salsa.
Collards Sri Lankan style
In Sri Lanka we make a lot of greens into what's called mallum or mallung which is essentially cooked or fresh greens with coconut. You can find frozen, grated, unsweetened coconut at Bestworld in Mt.P or at Indian grocery stores in the burbs. In a pinch, you can also rehydrate the grated dried coconut from the fancier organic stores.
Ingredients
- 10-12 leaves collard greens
- 1/4 cup grated coconut (unsweetened) thawed
- 1/4 cup onion or 1 shallot minced
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger peeled & minced/grated
- green chili (Jalapeno or Thai Bird's Eye) minced
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Lay each collard leaf on a cutting board and use a pestle or the back of a knife to smash the stem part of the collard. This will make it easier for the harder stem to cook. You can be pretty aggressive!
- Take each leaf (with stems smashed) and lay them on top of each other….I usually do about 5 leaves at a time. Then roll them up like a yoga mat nice and tight and slice very very thin. You want the little ribbons to be as thin as possible so that they cook nicely. If the collard stems are really long, you might have a pile of finely chopped stems with no leaf bits attached–put those aside to cook separately.
- Heat coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili to the warm oil and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent. If you have diced stems set aside, add them at this time.
- Add in the sliced collards and stir frequently. They will turn bright green and start to wilt (about 2-3 minutes).
- Finally, add the thawed (I do 20 sec in the microwave) coconut and stir to combine. You want to heat everything through, but don't cook the coconut too long or else the oils/milk of the coconut will come out.
Amy’s Tomato Jam
I love adjusting this recipe for any amount of tomatoes and I reduce the sugar by half when I'm keeping it in the fridge as opposed to canning it. It's great on breakfast sandwiches, for your fancy cheese platter, or on burgers in place of ketchup. The finished yield varies depending on the kind of tomato you use, the width of your pan, and the finished thickness to which you cook it.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds tomatoes finely chopped
- 3 1/2 cups sugar
- 8 tbsp bottled lime juice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves ground
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp red chili flakes
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce temperature to a simmer. Stirring regularly, cook at a low boiluntil it reduces to a sticky, jammy mess. This will take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours, depending on how high you keep your heat.
- When the jam has cooked down sufficiently, remove from heat and fill jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space. Wipe rims, apply lids and twist on rings. Process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars from water bath and allow them to cool. When jars are cool enough to handle, test seals. Store jars in a cool, dark place for up to one year.