Recipe of the week.
Tomato Chutney.
Those of you who regularly frequent our restaurant will have inevitably had some of our home made tomato and apple chutney. That is the little pot of red goodness that sits alongside the tapenade which graces your table once you have placed your order.
Last week when I posted the first recipe lots of you asked for our tapenade recipe, I'm still in negotiations with my Dad and Rushi as to whether I can upload that one. For now you will have to try making the chutney instead. We use a couple of chutney recipes, the one below is the current one you will have tasted in recent weeks.
Until recently when my grandpa moved house, during the the apple season we would use apples fresh from his back garden, you cant get much fresher than that! Unfortunately now he has moved there is no more apple tree. Now we have to buy them from our greengrocer, much to his delight. Like everything we serve the chutney is home made and fresh, and it’s relatively easy to make too. Here’s the recipe for you to try at home.
Down to business, the actual recipe.
Ingredients - Serves: 40
1 kg ripe tomatoes, skinned
1 kg cooking apples, peeled and cored
400g white onions
4 red chillies, chopped finely
1 tbsp root ginger, finely chopped or grated.
1/2 tsp ground allspice
4 garlic cloves, crushed
400ml malt or cider vinegar
300g demerara or light muscovado sugar
2 tsp salt
15g whole pickling spices. I’ll explain this bit below.
Equipment
Large pan, bowl, kettle, knife, grater, muslin bag,
Preparation:
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Place the tomatoes in a bowl with boiling water, leave till the water cools then peel, (this making the peeling process much easier).
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Dice the tomatoes
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Peel the apples, and core them.
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Dice the apples.
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Finely chop the onions.
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Finely chop the chillies
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Grate your piece of ginger
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Crush 4 garlic cloves
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Measure out 400ml of malt vinegar
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Measure out 350g Demerara sugar.
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Measure out 2 teaspoons salt
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Make your own bouquet Garni. Take a piece of muslin cloth and place a mixture of: Allspice berries, dried chillies, celery seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and peppercorns, in the centre, tie it up making sure it is sealed. This part is up to you, some people like me don't like fennel seeds, you can personalise this bit to your taste.
Method
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Place your apples tomatoes and onion in a large pan along with the garlic and vinegar.
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Slowly bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes (or until the fruit and vegetables are tender, don't forget to stir the mixture occasionally.)
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Add the remaining ingredients, including the pickling spices, and heat gently, stirring frequently until the sugar has dissolved.
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Bring the pan back to the boil, reduce the heat again and simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Stirring the mixture often towards the end of the cooking time. This to prevent any of the mixture sticking.
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By this time the chutney should be well-reduced and very thick – if necessary, cook for a few more minutes, or until it is your desired consistency.
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Everyone has their own preferences, don't be afraid to adapt the recipe and make it how you like it.
For us here this recipe will last us a few days (or less if we’re nice and busy!), for you though it would be advisable to store the chutney and eat it throughout the year.
