Green Tomatoes and Mincemeat Pie
The family secret ingredient for mincemeat pie was discovered quite by accident.
Back in the days when I canned and preserved nearly everything we ate, I especially enjoyed this time of year. In Southern Illinois, it is hot and humid, but it was a time when the canning cupboards were filling up and I loved that sense of security. I never gardened, but I certainly enjoyed the opportunities to purchase produce from local growers.
As autumn approached, I began to think of those last-minute baskets of vegetables that were gathered before the first frost got them. Those baskets usually came from my brother and dad. Their gardens were prolific, and they shared all summer, but they knew how much I loved the final batches of chow chow or pickles that I’d create with the end of the squash, cucumbers, green beans, peppers, and the green tomatoes that wouldn’t have a chance of ever turning red. If I didn’t have enough garden’s end vegetables, I’d throw in some apples and make delicious, sweet chutney.
Every year at Thanksgiving, I’d make a mincemeat pie for my dad and husband. They loved mincemeat. Every year I’d search for the right recipe. Daddy would say the pie was good but just not like Mama made. I knew Mama’s secret. She bought frozen mincemeat pies! It was really kind of a joke to compare my pie to her pie.
Finally, when I was about 40 years old, after making homemade mincemeat pies for 2 decades, I discovered where I’d always gone wrong. In our precious handwritten cookbook that my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother compiled, I found a recipe for mincemeat made with apples, raisins, walnuts and green tomatoes. Winner! That year, my dad took one bite of the pie and told me I’d finally gotten it right. Who would ever have thought that the recipe included green tomatoes and was made with garden’s end bounty? I started canning that pie filling and shared it with others. I made sure I could bake that pie for my men anytime they wanted it.
I’ll share that recipe at the end of this article, but first I want to show you two contemporary ways to use green tomatoes. I encourage you to use red tomatoes that are still green and not the other versions of green tomatoes. The next two recipes don’t have specific measurements, but they are easy to put together.
Green Tomato Casserole
Use 4 big green tomatoes, about ¼ cup of brown sugar, soft breadcrumbs, a half stick of butter and shredded cheddar cheese. Grease a 2-quart casserole with a little butter. Slice the tomatoes and begin layering the casserole with them. On top of the first layer of tomatoes, sprinkle part of the brown sugar. Then sprinkle the breadcrumbs. (Make those by throwing a couple pieces of bread or a hamburger bun in the food processor and pulsing until you have fine crumbs.) Over the crumbs, sprinkle cheddar cheese. Slice the butter and put half of it over this layer. Now, repeat the layers ending with butter on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. You will not believe how delicious this is. (My picture is a single serving, but this recipe easily serves 6.)
Green Tomato Savory Tarts
Long before we could visit the supermarket and buy puff pastry, crescent roll dough, pizza crust or bread dough in the freezer or refrigerator section, I used packs of pizza dough mix for all kinds of things that needed a crust for the base. I still do. They cost about 50 cents a pack and require a little oil and hot water. You can add all kinds of seasoning, fresh herbs, sugar and cinnamon or grated cheese to the dough to customize it. Experiment with it. You’ll love it.
These little tarts were made on a base of pizza dough. Make a savory cheese filling by combining 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise with 4 ounces of feta cheese. Cream together with a couple Tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs. I love sage and rosemary for this recipe. The cheese filling is hard to spread, so I just use a tiny scoop and drop it on the dough. Layer thin slices of green tomato and chopped red bell pepper on top of the filling. I let my tomato slices rest on paper towels for thirty minutes in order for the extra juice to come off. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. If you want a larger tart, increase the baking time to 30 minutes. Sprinkle the finished product with a little dried parmesan. Garnish with additional fresh herbs. These are great to serve with wine or alongside soup or salad.
Green Tomato Mincemeat Pie
This filling is enough for one large pie.
Combine 3 cups of seeded and chopped green tomatoes with 1 cup of dark brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a dash of salt and 4 Tablespoons of flour. Stir over medium heat until the liquid created by the tomatoes thickens. Add 2 cups of peeled and chopped apple, ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts and 1 cup of raisins. Stir in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon of cloves. Bring this mixture to a boil, then remove it from the heat. Stir in ½ stick of butter until it is melted, and the filling is glossy.
Let this filling cool to room temperature before baking it in a double crust pie.
Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn it down to 350 degrees and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes. Let the pie cool before slicing.