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    Home » Recipes

    Pickled Green Tomatoes (Domate Turshi)

    Published: Oct 11, 2021 by Sonila · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    • 25
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Have you ever tried Pickled Green Tomatoes? We made them every year around Fall time as soon as the first couple cold days started. In my native country of Albania, they are called Domate Turshi.

    A jar of sliced, pickled green tomatoes. There's peppercorn throughout the jar and a red chili pepper.
    Pickled Green Tomatoes

    Pickling in the Mediterranean

    Pickling vegetables is a very ancient tradition dating back over 4000 years ago. It’s rumored that even Cleopatra of Egypt and Caesar of Rome ate pickled vegetables.

    The Mediterranean region has a long history of pickling vegetables. Initially, pickling vegetables was done to preserve more produce from summer months to use well into winter. Typical preserves in brine or vinegar included cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, and green tomatoes.

    With time, pickled vegetables became part of the diet and gained popularity for its added health benefits & taste.

    Pickling with just Brine, no Vinegar? Yes, it’s Possible!

    There are 2 main methods of pickling. Just brine or brine and vinegar.

    The one my family and many other people in the Mediterranean used for many years, it’s the one where we pickle vegetables just with brine (water and salt). This method of pickling uses a fermentation process where vegetables pickle and ferment slowly while immersed in brine. It’s important to use anything handy to keep the vegetables from popping up on the surface, they have to be submerged at all times. We used a flat surface rock in my house to keep the pickled vegetables submerged. Also, the container (usually clay jug) with brine and vegetables was placed in a cold cellar or balcony in a dark corner where temperatures overnight went below 32 degrees F.

    The other method involves using vinegar to complete the pickling process. Formula varies from family to family, brand to brand. There are different vinegars used, some with the ‘mother culture’ still in it to aid in the fermentation process. You can keep this jar in a dark, cool corner of your kitchen for 2 weeks. Then refrigerate upon opening.

    Usually when canning pickled vegetables, the method with vinegar is used to preserve vegetables for longer. That’s why most store bought pickled vegetables do have vinegar as part of their ingredients.

    Coarse Sea Salt

    Not all salts are made equal!! Avoid table salt when trying to pickle anything.

    It’s recommended to use Kosher Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt. My personal preference is to use coarse Mediterranean Sea Salt.

    Too much salt can make the tomatoes take longer to pickle. Too little salt and the tomatoes might spoil.

    My rule of thumb in preparing the brine is 4 cups of water and ⅓ cup of coarse sea salt (in European measures I pretty much use 1 liter water and 73 grams of coarse sea salt).

    How Do You Serve These Green Tomatoes?

    Once pickled, you can make salads with these green tomatoes. You can slice them pretty thin to insert in sandwiches and eat them any other way you eat pickled food.

    The most common way we serve these tomatoes in my house is with a bean soup!! If you have never tried bean soup with pickled vegetables, add this to your bucket list!!

    Once we finish the salad, we even pour the olive oil mix left on the plate after salad is over, on top of the beans and give it a quick mix. Hmmm hmm hmm!!

    The pickled green tomatoes salad is pretty simple: sliced green tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives and obviously olive oil:).

    Beans soup served with green tomatoes and bread.
    Beans Soup Served with Pickled Green Tomatoes and Bread

    Tips & Notes

    This recipe is so simple and can be replicated in thousands different ways. Feel free to start small to validate that the concept works or take notes on how you’ll tweak it to your specific kitchen and type of jars you have.

    These tips are some observations I have made throughout the years that help me make these pickled green tomatoes safely.

    • Brine – boil water and salt until salt dissolves. Let the brine cool down.
    • Jars – sterilize the jars, lids and rings with boiling water, let air dry over a clean surface or kitchen towel.
    • Tomatoes – pick green tomatoes that are not soft. They need to be firm and not have yellowish or pink colors on the surface.
    • Flavors (herbs & seeds) – there’s so many options of flavors you can add to the pickles. Coriander seeds, mustard seeds, dill seeds, peppercorn, bay leaves, garlic, chilis etc etc. You can get creative here and add your favorite flavors. I stick with garlic, peppercorn, some fresh herbs, red chili and bay leaves for mine.
    • Vinegar – I usually stick with white vinegar, simple and it does the job.

    Check the video at the end of the recipe card too, it has some extra tips as well. It’s my first video where I appear in camera so I was a bit nervous while filming it, but I hope I conveyed the tips about making this recipe clearly. Thank you for watching it:).

    There's a big closed jar with pickled green tomatoes, sliced. You can see a red chili and some peppercorn in the jar too. Next to the jar there's 2 whole green tomatoes, parsley and a red chili.

    Pickled Green Tomatoes (Domate Turshi)

    Sonila
    Pickled green tomatoes are a Mediterranean delicacy. We make them end of summer to preserve the tomatoes for winter time and usually serve them as a salad alongside winter soups.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Pickling time 14 d
    Total Time 14 d 25 mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine Albanian, Balkan, Mediterranean
    Servings 8 servings
    Calories 47 kcal

    Equipment

    • Large mason jar

    Ingredients
      

    • 8 green tomatoes
    • 5 garlic cloves
    • 1 tbsp peppercorn
    • 4 bay leaves
    • 2 red chilis
    • 1 cup fresh parsley
    • ⅓ cup coarse sea salt preferably Mediterranean
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 cup white vinegar

    Instructions
     

    Brine

    • In a medium pot, mix 4 cups of water with ⅓ cup coarse sea salt. Set to boil, once boiled, turn heat off and let cool.

    Pickling process

    • Sterilize the mason jar.
    • Wash and pat dry the tomatoes. Slice them in quarterly pieces. Add slices to mason jar.
    • When jar is filled halfway through, add garlic cloves, peppercorn, and half the parsley. Then fit in the red chilis on the sides, bay leaves on top. Continue slicing tomatoes and filling the jar to the top.
    • Once jar is full, add the remaining parsley to fill in any voids. Then pour the brine on top. Finally add the vinegar until you fill the jar up to a quarter inch from the edge.
    • Close lid and ring tightly. Can the jar and store it in a dark, cool place in your kitchen. Don't open for at least 2 weeks. Once you open the jar, refrigerate the pickled tomatoes.
    • Serve as a salad with red onions, olives and olive oil or thinly sliced on sandwiches.

    Video

    Nutrition Label

    Nutrition Facts
    Pickled Green Tomatoes (Domate Turshi)
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 47 Calories from Fat 9
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 1g2%
    Saturated Fat 1g6%
    Monounsaturated Fat 1g
    Sodium 4744mg206%
    Potassium 355mg10%
    Carbohydrates 9g3%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 6g7%
    Protein 2g4%
    Vitamin A 1539IU31%
    Vitamin C 56mg68%
    Calcium 46mg5%
    Iron 1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 47kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 2gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 4744mgPotassium: 355mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1539IUVitamin C: 56mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword domate turshi, pickled green tomatoes
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mediterranean_latin_love or tag #mediterraneanlatinloveaffair!

    If you would like to save this recipe for later, please save it to your boards in Pinterest. Let me know in comments if you have any questions or if you make Pickled Green Tomatoes with a different formula. I’m always eager to learn different methods and experiences as well as share mine:). Feel free to tag me in social media with pictures of this recipe. Thank you!

    Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Twitter: MediterrLatin or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.

    An image prepared for Pinterest, it shows a large mason jar of pickled green tomatoes. The image has a title bar on top and the website link in the bottom.
    Pickled Green Tomatoes (Albanian Turshi)

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    Filed Under: Albanian, Mediterranean Food, Recipes, Side Dish Tagged With: Pickled

    About Sonila

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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    Sonila Zarate
    Sonila Zarate

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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