Green Tomato and Kale Pasta Sauce

With over 25 tomato plants in my garden, I was looking for a new idea. I could have in theory waited for them to ripen, but I was having issues with some of my roma plants (sigh!) and decided to call it a day on about 10 of my plants. So I pulled off the tomatoes, and chucked the plants. Then went and got inspired to do some canning. Green tomato pasta sauce? Sure! You won’t be finding this in your local grocery store I can tell you. This might be even too hipster for a fancy foods store…..

Green Tomato and Kale Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

• 6 pounds green tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1 cup tender kale leaves, tightly packed (strip off of stem before measuring)
• 1/3 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, lightly packed
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, lightly packed
• 3 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 5 Tbsp bottled lemon juice

Directions:

Fill a Waterbath Canner halfway with water, add in 5 pint mason jars. Bring to a boil over medium, covered.

Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, stir together tomatoes, kale, parsley, basil, oregano, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium, simmer uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring often. Lower heat a bit, if needed, so as to not scorch the bottom.

Take off burner, use a Hand Blender to process the sauce until mostly blended. If you don’t have one, you can ladle it into a blender and process in batches (be very careful doing this, always have a clean kitchen towel over the top!). Return pot to stove, bring up to a boil.

Lay a clean kitchen towel on counter, pull out the hot jars, and place on towel. Add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to each jar. Sterilize a ladle and funnel in the boiling water, then ladle the hot sauce into the jars, leaving a ½” headspace. Sterilize a chopstick or similar, run around the jar, to dislodge any air bubbles. Using a new damp paper towel, wipe around the rim. Place on a new lid and put on a band, finger tight. Place jars in the canning rack, lower in. The water should cover the top by at least an inch. Put on the pot’s lid, return to a boil. Process for 35 minutes.

Place a clean kitchen towel on a cooling rack, lift out jars, place on it. Listen for the pings, and be sure to test the lids, with a gentle touch, after cooling. If any bounce up, do not store them, put them in the refrigerator and use within a few days.

Notes:

I did a double batch, but a single batch is easier to handle. A basic Ball Utensil Set really helps, and is inexpensive.

While the sauce is cooking it might smell a bit different (it’s the kale), but once cooked and blended, the taste is amazing!