One of the things I love most about growing my own vegetables is that it pushes me to be even more creative with ingredients. Probably the most surprising thing about cultivating my own beetroot this year was finding different ways to prepare beet greens – the leaves and stalks that usually don’t even make it into the shops. Similarly, the fact that not all tomatoes on our friends’ tomato plants matured into sweet, red, ripeness led me to experiment with the green specimens that were left dangling on the vines at the end of the season. And guess what? They’re nothing like red tomatoes, but they’re delicious in their own way. Green tomatoes have a distinctly fruity and herbal aroma without being sweet. They’re also rather beautiful and lend themselves really well to this tart, spicy, salsa that can be made with store-cupboard ingredients. I haven’t given specific amounts as you never know how many green tomatoes you’ll end up with. Perhaps you cultivated tomatoes this year, or perhaps you’ll give growing them a go next year, in your garden, or on your balcony, and when summer has ended and you find yourself in my situation, you’ll know what to do.

Ingredients:

green tomatoes, chopped

cumin seeds (about 1 tbsp per 6 tomatoes)

ground coriander

chili flakes or dried chili

black pepper

white wine vinegar

salt

• Heat a saucepan to medium heat.
• Crush the cumin seeds slightly in a pestle and mortar, but keep them more or less intact, then add them to the pan and toast for 30 seconds.
• Add the tomatoes, a splash of water, a splash of vinegar, salt, ground coriander, chili and black pepper.
• Cover, turn the heat down slightly and simmer until the tomatoes break down and turn into a chunky sauce.
• Stir once in a while and adjust the amount of liquid if necessary by adding a bit more water and/or vinegar.

• If you’re happy with how your salsa tastes. Let it cool down and serve with nachos, pita chips, wraps, cheese, or whatever you fancy.
• Alternatively, put it in a clean glass jar and store it in the fridge for later use. This salsa keeps for about a week in the fridge.