Pickled Cherry Tomatoes
Pickled Cherry Tomatoes
By Chadwick Boyd
A Quick, Herby-Spice Pickle Brine Turns Cherry Tomatoes into Poppable Gems
Ever since I can remember, cherry tomatoes have been a big part of my summer.
Growing up, my Poppop would tend to a large garden filled with tomatoes. As kids, we used to sneak amongst his tomato plants and fill our bellies with as many cherry tomatoes as we could possibly eat. They were so warm from the beating sun, and we would laugh as the juice ran down our cheeks from eating mouthfuls.
Poppop had a garden into his 80s…a year or two before he died. It was the one thing that gave him purpose. Like in my childhood, his later garden was filled with tomatoes. Whenever I see tomatoes starting this time of year, I think of him and the seemingly thousands of tomatoes my cousins and I ate from his handiwork.
These Pickled Cherry Tomatoes are a simple way to enjoy and share cherry tomatoes this time of year. The easy pickling brine is studded with black peppercorns and coriander and fennel seeds…and perfumed with garlic and bay leaf. Depending on what I have on hand, I throw in some fresh herbs, like dill, too.
Serve these Pickled Cherry Tomatoes with grilled ribs, steaks or meaty white fish. Make several jars and give to friends.
Chadwick’s Checklist
What you need to know before you cook.
- Use a large saucepan
- Get all the ingredients together first. It will make putting the pickles together much more smoothly
- Make these a few days in advance if serving at a picnic
Makes: 24-ounce jar Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 15 minutes + Chill Time
Ingredients
To Make the Pickling Brine
¾ cup white balsamic vinegar
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
1 fresh bay leaf
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon red chile flake
2 cloves garlic, halved
To Make the Pickles
14 ounce container cherry tomatoes
1 celery rib, sliced in half lengthwise, and then into 3” sticks
2 slices of fennel bulb
A few fennel fronds
Directions
Add the brine ingredients, except for the garlic, to a small saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir to fully dissolve the sugar. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic and simmer for two more minutes.
While the brine comes to a boil, prepare the pickling ingredients. Pierce each tomato with a bamboo skewer through the center core and out through the other end. Place them along with the celery, fennel and fennel fronds in a clean and dry 24 oz wide-mouth glass jar. Use a butter knife or the handle of a kitchen spoon to maneuver placement and even distribution of the celery and fennel.
Pour the hot brine over the tomatoes – it should come to about 1” to the top of the jar. Tap the bottom of jar on the counter to help the ingredients settle. Let sit on the counter to cool down. Then seal tightly and refrigerate. The tomatoes should develop some flavor after two days rof being efrigerated. The longer they sit, the more the flavor will develop. The pickled cherry tomatoes will keep for up to three weeks.
