If your harvest is heavy, then why not make light work of using up that excess produce with some of Janice Clyne’s fermentation recipes. Fermenting anything literally unlocks all the good stuff, it is a magical process which transforms foods into superfoods of the highest order with amazing flavour as an added extra!
Recipe 1: Cherry Tomato Bombs
This is one of the easiest ferments to make, these wee bombs are packed with flavour with a surprising fizz when you bite them! If you grow your own tomatoes, this is a great way to preserve them along with any herbs you are growing, which add flavour and their own health benefits.
Cherry tomatoes are generally sweet, they have high levels of lycopene, a key player in fighting inflammation which magically becomes more bioavailable when fermented.
These cherry tomato bombs are delicious eaten on their own, as part of a salad, or chopped and mixed with avocado for a simple probiotic guacamole. However you chose to use them, they are guaranteed to add great colour and flavour to your plate!
What you need (makes 1 litre jar):
- enough cherry tomatoes to almost fill your jar
- 2 or 3 bashed garlic cloves
- a small handful of herbs, rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, sage, or marjoram
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
- 500ml filtered water
- a cabbage leaf or vine leaf or ziplock bag to hold the tomatoes under the brine
What to do:
Simply add your herbs and bashed garlic to your clean glass jar. Fill almost to the top with cherry tomatoes, leaving an inch gap at the top.
Dissolve a tablespoon of fine salt in 500ml of filtered water. Stir until dissolved then pour over the tomatoes. Add a trimmed cabbage leaf, vine leaf, or plastic zip lock bag to keep the tomatoes submerged. Add a weight of some sort or just fill the zip lock bag with extra brine to weigh it down.
Place on a plate and leave at room temperature to ferment for around seven days. You should see bubbles as the fermentation proceeds and the brine will turn from clear to cloudy.
Taste one after seven days, it should have a lovely flavour with a gentle fermenty fizz. Remove the plastic zip lock bag and transfer to the fridge.
Best enjoyed within three to four weeks but these will keep for months.
Recipe 2: Tomato Salsa
This salsa is delicious and the fermentation adds a lovely sour tang. It is a great way of using up tomatoes and who doesn’t love salsa with tortilla chips? Or you can enjoy it on a slice of sourdough with avocado as a probiotic bruschetta!
It also tastes amazing as it is, so if you do not have time to ferment it then you can still enjoy all the amazing flavours, you will just be without the probiotics.
A fast ferment, taking only three days, you will not have long to wait. Alternatively, just add a clove of fermented garlic, job done!
What you need (makes 1 litre jar):
- 500g tomatoes, any kind, roughly chopped
- 2 red or green peppers, roughly chopped
- 1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
- juice of 1 lime
- handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- 2 tspn sea salt
- ½ tspn cumin seeds or ground cumin
- ½ tspn smoked paprika
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
What to do:
This is so easy. Simply mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Then pack into a clean 1 litre jar, leaving 2.5cm (1”) headspace at the top. Pack it in tightly to expel any air and bring juices to the surface. Close the lid and allow to ferment at room temp for three days.
Put a bowl underneath it to catch any escaping juices and transfer to the fridge. Your salsa will keep for around six months.
As a qualified food scientist, gut health guru, supporter of plant-based locally sourced seasonal food, a fermentista, and foraging fanatic, Janice Clyne is passionate about inspiring, informing, and motivating change in health and eating habits – delivering vibrant good health, through her Wellness Hub and ‘Nourished by Nature‘ skills, expertise, and experience.