Tomato Chutney

A few weeks back I made some absolutely delicious chutney, enough to fill three jars, and then I took some photos of it, which I was really proud of. Then I lost my memory card, and all my photos from the last few months. Including chutney pictures, photos of my garden which were going to be included in a gardening blog post I had been promising for months, and more. Unfortunately my garden doesn't look nearly as photogenic as it did in Summer, but fortunately I still had two jars of chutney left and some late season tomatoes from my garden for the photos. So here it is chutney round 2, I hope you like it!

This chutney is the perfect mix of spicey and sweet. I've got really into sandwiches because of my chutney, it pairs brilliantly with vegan cheese, or vegan cold meats like tofurkey.

The cooking process for this is super simple, and it smells heavenly. Invite people round to your kitchen as it simmers just to show of your kitchen wizardry.

Honestly of all the things I've made on this blog, this might be one of my favourites in terms, of taste and simplicity. Plus it's a great way to use up old jars, and means you don't have to go out and buy expensive chutney.

This chutney will keep for up to 6 weeks. So it's also a great way to use up a bumper tomato crop and keep them into the winter months.

Make sure to sterilise all jars before placing the chutney in them. There are various sterilisation methods. I used the dry heat method which is this.

Wash the jars in hot soapy water, don't dry them. Remove the rubber seals if using kilner jars. Then place upside down on a tray into an oven at 120'c, and wait for the jars to become completely dry. To sterilise the rubber seals, place them into a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes.

Makes around 1 kg of chutney which I fit into 3 mason jars

Ingredients

1kg tomatoes (I used a variety of tomatoes including small tomatoes, which gave a really sweet flavour, but any tomatoes will do)

500kg red onion (around 3 medium sized onions)

1 small chilli

4 cm piece of fresh ginger

250g brown sugar

150 ml red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons harissa spice mix (optional)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

Method

1) Dice your tomatoes, red onion and chilli.

2) Tip all your ingredients into a large heavy based saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.

3) Allow to simmer for 1 and a half hours or so, until your mixture has reduced to be dark, jammy and shinny.

4) Allow to cool completely before placing into mason jars and into the fridge.

5) Enjoy in a vegan cheese sammie!