Green Tomato & Raisin Chutney

Having made jam (and marmalade, pickles, chutneys and ketchups) for the first time ever in August, I've really caught the preserving bug. And it's proving to be a perfect way to use and store our home-grown vegetables.

We planted our tomatoes out a little late this year so, although the yield has been fantastic, most have not had time to ripen.

tigarella tomatoes

Back in September, I used some of our green tomatoes to make some chutney. I didn't have all the ingredients for any of the recipes I had to hand so I decided to improvise. The result was even better than I expected; I'm so pleased with it!

Kavey's Green Tomato & Raisin Chutney
Ingredients
1 kilograms green tomatoes
250 ml malt vinegar
250 grams raisins
165 grams sugar
5 cloves garlic
2/3 tablespoon ground cumin
2/3 tablespoon sweet paprika (optional)
Salt (to taste)

Method

1. Place all the ingredients, except for the sugar, into a pan and bring to the boil.

1. Turn heat down and cook covered until tomatoes are soft.
2. Uncover, add sugar and boil briskly until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning, spices, sugar and/ or vinegar, as required.

1. Transfer into hot sterilised jars (both jars and chutney should be hot), seal and leave to cool.

1. Label and store in cool, dark cupboard.

Note: I sterilise my jars in the oven, putting a tray of jars into a cold oven, setting the temperature to 160 C, and leaving the jars in for at least 10 minutes once the oven has reached temperature. The lids I boil in a pan and then lay out to dry on a fresh teatowel.

The finished chutney is quite a dark one, with a strong flavour. It's kind of a mix between the flavours of a fruit-based chutney and the picquancy of Branston pickle. It makes a great accompaniment to strong cheese.