Pickled Farm-Stand Tomatoes with Jalapeños

• Recipe by Brian McBride

At Blue Duck Tavern in Washington, DC, chef Brian McBride serves side dishes separately from entrées so diners can mix and match. This side dish of pickled tomatoes is terrific with a simply grilled steak, but it’s also delicious with plenty of crusty bread to sop up the ginger-and-cumin-scented tomato juices.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup rice vinegar
2. 1/4 cup light brown sugar
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5. 1 garlic clove, minced
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
7. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
8. 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
9. 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
10. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
11. Pinch of cayenne pepper
12. 6 tomatoes (1 1/2 pounds), each cut into 6 wedges
13. 4 scallions, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
14. 2 jalapeños, thinly sliced into rings and seeded

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the vinegar, brown sugar and salt to a boil, stirring. Remove from the heat.
2. In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic, grated ginger, mustard seeds, black pepper, turmeric, ground cumin and cayenne pepper and cook over low heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Carefully pour the hot oil into the vinegar mixture.
3. In a large heatproof bowl, combine the tomatoes, scallions and jalapeños. Stir in the hot pickling liquid and let stand at room temperature for 4 hours or refrigerate for 8 hours, then serve.