The Temptation of Tomatoes

I’m sure that I am not alone in my love for a fresh, ripe and best of all, homegrown tomato.  Last summer was the first that I had tried to grow them and I was delighted with the results.  Someone gave me some seedlings, we didn’t know what variety they were but they were all delicious.  The only trouble was there just wasn’t enough of them. 

So this year I planted twice as many; 3 different heritage varieties – Brandywine Pink, Delicious and a great little cherry variety, Ladybug, as well as some different random seedlings that we were given.   The output this year has been much improved, although still not quite enough!   Luckily it’s lovely and warm in this part of the country so it’s not too late for a second crop to go in which I will do this week so that I can freeze enough to keep us going through the winter months. 

This is my favourite recipe for tomato chutney.  I make just a small batch at a time and then use the frozen stock if I need to make some more. 

Tomato Chutney 

2 kilos tomatoes 

6 onions 

500 ml malt vinegar 

500 grams white sugar 

1 ½ tablespoons mustard powder 

2 teaspoons ginger powder (optional) 

6 dried chillies or 2 teaspoons chilli flakes 

1 tablespoon curry powder 

1 tablespoon salt 

Skin tomatoes by placing in hot water for a few minutes.  Chop these roughly.  Chop the onions and put all ingredients together into a big pot.  Bring to boil and then turn down to a simmer until the mixture becomes quite thick.  This can be as quick as one hour or as long as two hours, depending on the juiciness of the tomatoes.  Store in steralised jars. 

Tomato Chutney made January 2010