Author: The Medlar

Tomatillos or ‘Mexican husk tomato’ originate, unsurprisingly, from Mexico. They are a member of the Physalis family. It grows very easily in my greenhouse as a bush up to about 1.5m high and needs supporting to stop it becoming too unruly.

The fruit appear as ‘lanterns’ wrapped in a papery leaf and swell until they fill and ultimately split the pod. When de-husked they look like green or greeny-yellow cherry tomatoes and are slightly tacky to touch. They keep for a couple of weeks off the plant on the sideboard, and just need a wash before using.

When you look online to find out what to do with them salsa verde is probably every one of your top ten recipe hits! but this little fruit is amazingly versatile. It has a slight lime tang and is brilliant raw or cooked. I use it in salsa (of course), but also in things like Thai green curry and spicy lime dips. It cooks like tomatoes and adds a great glossy/stickiness to sauces, raw it has a similar texture to tomato and can be (as tomatoes can) sweet or firm or squishy or tart… I love it.

When I first grew it I wasn’t convinced, but now I’m a convert. Never seen it in the shops so I grow 4-6 plants a year, use the fruit fresh while I can (July to November) and freeze the rest as pre-cooked blocks in 150 ml and 500 ml cubes (smaller for dips and larger for bigger curries etc. ) .

Over the last few years We’ve consistently grown two types of pumpkin. We’ve tried several and will keep on trying the odd new variety but these two are staple favourites.

Red Kuri

A fertile climbing squash I grow in the poly-tunnel. A good plant will produce four or so round orange/red squash about 20cm diameter. I pick them when the stalks go woody and the season lasts from late July to early October. After a week on a window sill to firm up the skin they store for months on a dry cool shelf in the kitchen. Typically at least 4 months.

As you can see, and perhaps because they are from my own seeds, they vary in size, shape, colour and texture – but they all still taste great!

Crown Prince

A sterile (so I buy seeds every year) outdoor pumpkin. Spreading vines about 4m long and each plant normally produces one large pumpkin 30-35cm diameter.  This might not seem like a big difference from Red Kuri – but each fruit has about six times as much usable flesh. They crop later – typically I pick them just before the first ground frost, and they store for a good six months.

Why two varieties?

A few reasons, firstly it extends the season, secondly crown price stores so well I can be eating it into the following spring, thirdly it gives me ‘pumpkin security’ – sometimes one variety doesn’t do so well so I rely more on the other.

There are culinary reasons too. The two squash are different in flavour and more importantly (to me) texture. Crown prince is harder, keeps it’s texture better when cooked, Red Kuri is softer and pulp and softens much more readily. So just like potatoes I have a preference for different squash in different dishes. Red Kuri is awesome with leaves in a curry, as a soup or sauce, as a mash. Crown Prince reins supreme as chips, roasties and as a veg in a stew or slow cooked pie.

Think of it as the difference between sweet potato and butternut squash and you get the picture. Both of these are substitutes for squash in my recipes as are carrots in a few. So that too will give you an idea of how/when to use them if you grow them.