Fermented tomato salsa

Now I agree a fresh tomato salsa is absolutely delicious! Summer perfection! So why bother to ferment one..? I’ve made this ferment twice. The first occasion was late last summer, when buckets of firm green tomatoes at the market were being sold for next-to-nothing as it was too late in the season from them to ripen fully. And second was after a recent food shoot, where enormous amounts of tomatoes were at risk of going to waste… So this recipe came about through the time-old need to preserve a glut. If you can try this one with green tomatoes definitely do – it’s sensational.

It works as any chutney, salsa or relish. It’s amazing with cheese toasties, as a bruschetta topping, or simply mopped up with fresh sourdough, olive oil and dukkah. It’s equally good dolloped on curries and tagines. It’s best at room temperature rather than cold from the fridge.