Wednesday, 2 September 2015

Tomato & ale chutney

Hi Friends,
I promised a couple of people this recipe, so here goes! Tomato & ale chutney. Yum! It really is a good one for so many things, especially a spoonful dolloped on top of cheese on toast before flashing it under the grill.

I snipped this recipe out of a gardening magazine ages ago - I can't remember which magazine, but it was definitely worth its cover price for this alone.

  Tomato & Ale Chutney


You will need:

2.5 kg ripe tomatoes (soft & imperfect ones are fine)
500g onions
500g sultanas
500g demerara sugar
500g malt vinegar
250ml full-flavoured ale*
2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp mixed spice
1.5 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper

*A good chance to support your local small brewery instead of a big multi-national corporation. I'm using this -

'Maid Marion' from the Springhead Brewery

Equipment needed - Large heavy-based pan, ideally a preserving pan, jam jars or kilner jars with tight-fitting lids, labels.

Instructions:
*Skin the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them for a few minutes, before plunging into cold water.

The skins will now come off easily. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
*Chop the onions quite finely.
*Put the tomatoes, onions & all the other ingredients in the pan.



*Heat slowly, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
*Bring it up to the boil, then reduce the heat & simmer for around 2 hours. It's hard to be exact with timings because some tomatoes are more watery than others.
*While you are waiting, wash the jars thoroughly in hot soapy water, rinse them & stack them on their side in a large roasting tray (or similar). Heat the oven to Gas 2, Put the tray of jars inside & reduce the heat to 'S' (or Gas 1/2 if you don't have the 'S' setting).
*Make sure you stir the chutney now & again to ensure that it isn't sticking on the bottom of the pan. If it does, it can catch & the burned flavour can permeate the finished product.
*After about 2 hours, the chutney should have reduced in volume & be thick, rich & sticky-looking. There shouldn't be a very noticeable layer of liquid on top of the pan. You can do a little test, by ladling a bit of chutney onto a plate & drawing a spoon through it to make a line. If this is impossible because of lots of liquid, then it needs a bit more cooking. If it's so thick & sticky that you could actually use it to make a modal stegosaurus or mortar brickwork, then I'm afraid you've over-cooked it.
*When it's ready for bottling, turn out the heat & remove the tray of jars from the oven. You need plenty of work surface for this, so have a quick declutter if you're a messy cook. Line up the jars (they will be HOT!) & give the chutney a good stir. Using a jam funnel if you have one, or a steady hand if you don't, carefully fill the jars, leaving about 1cm gap at the top. Check that there are no air bubbles in the jars. If so, they will need poking with a clean utensil to get rid of them as they can affect the keeping quality of the chutney.Using a clean cloth rung out in hot water, wipe the jar rims before screwing the lids on straight away.


*Label the jars, admire your efforts & think what a resourceful little Clever Trousers you have been.

Now, if you've not been able to resist dipping a cheeky spoon in to see what it tastes like, don't worry if it's initially a bit sharp & vinegary. It's perfectly fine to eat now, but this chutney matures to mellow loveliness after a couple of months, so it will be more than ready for a turkey sandwich. I find that home made chutneys usually keep well for a year in a dark pantry, but I do store them in the fridge when they're open (not that much lasts very long around here!)

So that's how to make a fab tomato & ale chutney. It's a very straightforward recipe, so a good one to try if you've never made chutney before. If you don't fancy it, & it sounds like too much effort when you can buy a jar off the peg, then I suggest you spend your time another way......maybe lying on the patio with your feet in the air as demonstrated by our friend below - 


....it works for him, anyway!
Cheers,
C x

2 comments:

  1. Wow, sounds fab, but I don't really, really like sultanas, is there anything else I can put in? (be careful how you answer that!) Otherwise I shall have to take the AW approach to chutney LOL

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    Replies
    1. Not really, as if you hate sultanas, you won't like raisins either. Chopped dried apricots would be an option but they also have a distinct flavour so would alter the overall chutney. You might discover a new recipe that way, though.

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