Tomatillo /Physalis philadelphica and Physalis ixocarpa/ is still an exotic vegetable for Bulgaria! For 5 years now we have been growing tomatillo plants in our garden every summer – enjoying yellow, green and purple tomatillo fruits. Different colored fruits have different tastes – green ones are pleasantly sour, and yellow and purple ones are sweet. I very often prepare recipes with them – fresh salads, soups and stews, as well as canned food in jars.

We first prepared the recipe for “Danail’s Lutivka” 5 years ago, and my husband Danail liked it so much that since then we prepare it every summer especially for him. We fill a lot of jars, but the recipe is for preparing a relatively small amount – for 7 pcs. jars with a capacity of 720 ml. or for 14 pcs. jars with a capacity of 480 ml.

The recipe for “Danail’s Lutivka” is as clean as possible of additives, it contains a small amount of Himalayan salt 0.5% and home-made grape vinegar – that’s how we have healthy food in jars. However, we prepare enough jars of “Danail’s Lutivka” to last about 8 months. Although if properly prepared and sterilized, the jars can be consumed for up to 2 years!

For the preparation of “Danail’s Lutivka” I mainly use green-colored tomatillo fruits, which are naturally sour and give a pleasant sour taste when cooked. Since in Bulgaria you will hardly find tomatillo fruits at farmers’ markets, and they are not sold in stores, you can successfully replace them with green tomatoes. Since my husband Danail, likes his food medium to very hot, I use very hot chili peppers in the recipe – if you want a milder flavor, use less hot chili peppers! I use garden cucumbers in the recipe because we grow them in our garden – you can successfully replace them with greenhouse cucumbers or cucumber gherkins. In the recipe for “Danail’s Lutivka”, I put green peppers of the Chorbajiski sweet variety, since they have a thin skin and it does not separate during cooking. If you don’t have green peppers of this variety, you can substitute Sivria green peppers or another thin-skinned green pepper variety. “Danail’s Lutivka” is pleasantly sour and medium hot in taste – the perfect addition to soups and stews!

Danail’s Lutivka

Course: Food in jars, Recipes

Количество

4725

грама

Подготовка

hour

minutes

Готвене

minutes

Калории

1291.70

ккал

Pickled vegetables with chilli peppers

INGREDIENTS

2000 g. tomatillo /Mexican tomatoes/
can be replaced with green tomatoes
1100 g garden cucumbers
850 g green and red chili peppers /very hot/
700 g green peppers of the Chorbadzhiyski sweet variety
can be replaced with green peppers of the Sivria variety, cleaned of the seeds
80 g celery leaves
can be replaced with parsley leaves
30 g garlic cloves
90 g Himalayan pink salt
can be replaced with any other salt
200 ml. home-made wine vinegar
can be replaced with apple cider vinegar
7 pcs. glass jars with a capacity of 720 ml.
7 pcs. metal caps for the jars
– a large pot for boiling the jars
– a large container for mixing the vegetables

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

I clean the skin of a tomatillo and wash it well with water. I clean the garlic cloves from the scales and wash them with water. I wash all the vegetables with water and drain them well. With a kitchen scale, I weigh the required amounts of the recipe.
With a sharp knife, I carefully cut off the stems of the chili peppers and cut them into 2 mm thick rounds. I cut off the stems of the Chorbadzhiyski sweet green peppers and cut them into 2 mm thick circles – if you can’t find this exact variety of green peppers, choose another variety of green peppers with a thin skin that doesn’t separate during cooking! I cut the cucumbers lengthwise into 4 parts and then cut each part into 2 mm thick pieces. I cut each tomatillo into 4 pieces and then cut them into 2 mm thick pieces. I cut the celery leaves into small pieces. I cut the garlic cloves into small pieces – they can be crushed with a garlic press.
In a large bowl, I put all the chopped vegetables, add the salt and vinegar and mix well. I take a glass jar and with the help of a spoon I start filling the jar with the vegetable mixture, pressing the mixture tightly. I fill all the jars well and fill them with the remaining liquid from the vegetables. I tightly screw the metal lids on the jars with my hands.
In a large pot with a lid, I arrange the jars tightly next to each other and fill with enough water – the water level must be at least 7 cm above the jars! I put the pot on the stove, turn the stove on to the highest setting and wait for the water in the pot to boil. When the water starts to boil, I reduce the heat by one notch and wait for the water to boil for at least 15 minutes. Then I turn off the heat and let the pot with the jars cool.
I take out the cooled jars from the pot, dry them and arrange them in the basement. It is good for the jars to age for at least 1 month so that they taste good!

NOTES

Nutritional value per 100g. product:
Energy value – 27.34 kcal
Proteins – 1.20 g
Carbohydrates – 4.70 g
Fat – 0.43 g
Fiber – 1.74 g
Filled and sterilized jars should age for at least 1 month before consumption for better flavoring!