Stuffed Pickled Green Tomatoes

I love green tomatoes. They're beautiful, tangy and have a satisfying crunch both fresh and pickled. Back in Sacramento they were an occasional treat at the end of tomato season -- the swan song of your dying tomato plants, a gift from a gracious neighbor, or a lucky find at the local ethnic market. I assumed this sorry state of affairs would change when I moved to North Carolina, since what culinary tradition has more green tomato recipes than the American South? They serve them pickled, fried, in chow chows, baked into pies -- you name it!

Boy was I wrong. In six months here I have only seen them once, at the local farmer's market in August and priced equally with ripe heirloom tomatoes. Maybe next year I'll be luckier.

For those of you who somehow have regular access to these delicious little things, here is my favorite way to pickle green tomatoes and a method common in Eastern European countries.  This can be done with either full sized tomatoes or grape tomatoes. I made these with green grape tomatoes from my mother-in-law's plant. This recipe is for naturally fermented tomatoes, but I'm sure a simple vinegar brine can be substituted if that's what you prefer.

You will need:
Green tomatoes, the greener the better.
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
Chopped Garlic
Chopped Dill
Chopped Parsley
Chopped Carrot

Brine:
  Dissolve 2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt or kosher salt per1 liter of boiled water. One of these days I'll figure out how much that weighs so you can use any size of salt grain you want.

Process:

1. Thoroughly wash your tomatoes and cut an X about 2/3 of the way through each tomato.
2. Fill each tomato with a mixture of chopped fresh garlic, dill, parsley and carrot or any combination of those. This is obviously much easier with larger tomatoes, but surprisingly simple even with tiny grape tomatoes -- just give them a gentle squeeze with your fingers and use a butter knife to force in the stuffing.
3. Pack tightly in clean glass jars or a food-safe crock and cover with salt brine. Make sure all of the tomatoes are covered in brine. If you're using a crock, you can use a plate to hold everything down under the brine. If you're using a jar, don't tighten the lid -- air needs to be able to escape.
4.  Depending on the temperature of your home, tomatoes should be ready in a 1-3 weeks. Any white scum on the top or sediment at the bottom is perfectly normal.