First things first, the biggest thank you to everyone who emailed after my last post asking for recipe testers!! I was expecting a handful of my regular readers to put their hand up, but was not expecting so many of my silent followers to come out of the woodwork’s too! I was so humbled by your emails and enthusiasm and somewhat overwhelmed at the task of choosing who I would use and what recipes I’d sent out to whom. As you’ve probably guessed by my longest ever absence on here, I’m still snowed under and most days am feeling like I’m treading water just to stay afloat, so I’ll be keeping this post super short and sweet and don’t be at all surprised if you only hear from me a few times over the next month (I have a great guest post lined up for in a few days time though, so stay tuned!). I’m really looking forward to getting back into regular posting once my manuscript is handed in…
The kids and I picked up a 10kg box of cheap sauce tomatoes at the markets on Saturday (you know cause I really need to give myself more work and all!?). I’m a sucker for cheap tomatoes and have had to rely on them this year as our own tomato plants got smashed to pieces in crazy winds months ago. The kids and I spent a few hours preparing enough pasta/pizza sauce to last us well into the winter months yesterday, but that still only used up about 2/3 of our market score. So knowing my freezer is now completely full my mind turned next to a few jars of chutney to liven things up when the rain finally comes. This ones super simple, but does use a few lovely spices to give it some grunt. I’ve used black sesame seeds here cause I’ve had a bag in my pantry for way too long and they were screaming out to be used, but regular hulled or unhulled white ones would be fine too. You can find fenugreek at your local Indian grocers.
Spiced tomato chutney
As mentioned above I’ve used black sesame seeds here cause I’ve had a bag in my pantry for way too long and they were screaming out to be used, but regular hulled or unhulled white ones would be fine too. You can find fenugreek at your local Indian grocers.
Makes 2 medium jars
1kg ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (black or yellow)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
1 long red chilli, finely chopped (de-seeded if desired)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 large apples, peeled, cored and finely diced
1 1/4 cups (250g) unrefined raw sugar
3/4 cup (185ml) apple cider vinegar
Remove the little core at the bottom end of each tomato using a sharp knife. Score a crisscross on the round end and place into a large glass/ceramic bowl. Pour over enough boiling water to cover and leave for 45-60 seconds. Drain off water and refresh tomatoes under cold running water. The skins should now slip off easily. Remove skin and finely dice the flesh.
Heat oil in a large heavy-base saucepan over medium heat. Add mustard and fennel seeds, when they start to pop add in the fenugreek and black sesame seeds, stir briefly then add in garlic, ginger and chilli. Cook, stirring constantly for 30-45 seconds or until fragrant. Add salt, chopped tomatoes, apple, sugar and vinegar. Give it all a good stir, bring up to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 55-60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so until thickened. Remove from the heat and transfer to steralised jars. Will store for 3-6 months in a cool dark place. Once jars are opened use within 2 weeks. If you don’t want to bother with steralised jars simply transfer the chutney to a clean glass jar, cool and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
*To steralise jars place clean glass jars into a preheated oven at 120C/250F for 20 minutes. To steralise lids place into a bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside 5 minutes, drain and use hot.
14 Responses
I'm also a sucker for cheap tomatoes! And this looks like the perfect way to use them up!
I really like this recipe. I think it's better than mine. 🙂
I have a bucket of tomatoes sitting on my bench- I can't believe I'm still picking them this late in the season!
I had a lot of fun making your recipe, thanks for letting us be part of the process 🙂
No thank you Rebecca! xx
This sounds so delicious, I love the idea of all those spices with the sweet tomatoes. Wonderful!
Good luck with the final push on the book xo
Cooking up a big batch of fruit or veg in season is so satisfying and you'll cherish it when the colder weather sets in again. Gorgeous little recipe 🙂
oh emma that is right up my alley !! x hope you are well
yum
we don't have tomato season jet, but I will try it in a few months.
greetings
Over here in Berlin, season for tomatoes has not yet arrived but will be there soon. I will keep this gorgeous recipe in mind for that time. Looks (and sounds) delicious!
I could never say no to cheap tomatoes! The UK is seriously lacking in that arena… in fact, I think that's what drew me to this recipe in particular, especially that beautiful photo. Oh man, what I'd do for some juicy tomatoes and chutney!
You cannot beat a good tomato chutney 🙂 This one sounds great Em 🙂
Such a great spicy recipe, you're introduced me to the wonderful world of Chutneys 🙂
Thank you
x x x
http://lalangostaymi.blogspot.com.es/2013/05/summer-chutney.html
I love your spiced tomato chutney. Moreover, I like the color it looks great. I want to say thank you so much for keeping me inspired with this delicious recipe.