When Life Hands You Green Tomatoes...

...don't make lemonade. Seriously, it'll taste terrible. You can, however, whip up a pretty good Green Tomato Soup with them.

As I mentioned last week, the farm got hit with late blight, and the only tomatoes that could be saved were the green ones. I'm not a green tomato expert, but I'm definitely not one to shy away from trying to use a new ingredient, and wouldn't you know it, the New York Times had a nice recipe for green tomato soup in its dining section. Perfect!

Being me, I messed with it a little. I threw in a red bell pepper I found getting pruny in my vegetable drawer and substituted plain nonfat yogurt for the creme fraiche in the recipe. Neither change rendered the soup inedible--in fact, it was quite delicious, and a great way to use up some of the unripened tomatoes we're picking ahead of the first frost. The soup's good both hot and cold--on a busy night, you can come home, throw a salad together, spoon up some of the soup (which is actually surprisingly filling and satisfying), and have yourself a nice 10-minute dinner. My favorite kind!

Green Tomato Soup
Adapted from a recipe on the New York Times website


2T unsalted butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced (optional)
1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 cups green tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
8 tsp plain yogurt (optional)
1T chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp honey

Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent (3-5 minutes)

While that's cooking, lightly crush the coriander with a mortar and pestle or the side of a knife. Add it to the pot with the garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes

Add the tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the tomatoes have broken down, about 30 minutes. Feel free to watch an episode of Modern Family while you wait: I hear it's pretty funny.

Using an immersion or standard blender, pulverize the soup until it's nice and smooth

Return the soup to medium heat and add the optional yogurt, dill, and honey. Cook until heated through. Taste and adjust seasonings.

I thought the soup was fine on its own, but the original recipe calls for brioche croutons and bacon sprinkled over the top, so feel free to go nuts. I mean, what isn't improved by adding bacon?

Happy cooking, everyone!