Scotland Grows

Harvest Heaven

Little can beat the joy of making dishes using your homegrown fruit and vegetables or those foraged from the surrounding countryside. Here is a special recipe for this season to make the most of those green tomatoes.

Green tomatoes are cherished in Indonesian cooking for being crunchy and sour

Green Tomato Chilli Sambal

Many are often left with the dilemma of green tomatoes. As an Indonesian, we actually cherish these tomatoes as they are perfect for some of our recipes: still so green, crunchy and sour, a flavour we look forward to!

This is a special Indonesian inspired recipe. You can pair it with fried fish, fresh vegetables such as lettuce and cucumbers, or even add some to your soup this season to bring out a bit of heat.

What you need (Serves 4):

  • 150g of green tomatoes, of any cultivar, roughly chopped
  • 50g or 100g of green chilli, depending on the level of heat
  • 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 brown onions, finely sliced
  • 4 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 3-4 splashes of fish sauce
  • 1 chicken/vegetable stock cube
  • Salt
  • 1 tspn of sugar

What to do:

In a pot, add veg oil and all ingredients: garlic, onion, green tomatoes, and green chilli. Season with a bit of salt and crushed stock cube.

To begin, add all ingredients to a pot

Set stove to medium. Put the lid on, simmer occasionally to prevent burning at the base. This process will take around 10-15 minutes until all green tomatoes and green chillies have softened. Turn the stove off. Splash the fish sauce, salt, and sugar.

Softening the tomatoes should take about 10-15 minutes

Finally, using a pestle and mortar or blender, blend everything into a paste. I personally prefer to use a pestle and mortar as I enjoy the sambal with rough texture (not so smooth). It is more authentic both on the eyes and to taste.

Blend into a paste of your desired texture

Dina Watt, an Indonesian now living in Aberdeenshire, is known as the Indonesian Cook. Dina’s love of nature and gardening fuels her passion for cooking using home-grown ingredients. She appeared on BBC’s ‘Beechgrove’ in 4 episodes in 2021.

In her column, Dina shares her own adventurous recipes for delicious home-cooked meals that are easy to make using home-grown, seasonal fruits and vegetables from her own kitchen garden. She is passionae about using every bit of the plant in order to practise zero-waste principles.

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