Eating seasonally is so good for you but it can definitely be hard when some of your favourite vege are only available fresh during the Summer months! This tomato chutney is a perfect way to preserve delicious organic tomatoes, so that you can enjoy them year round. The recipe can easily be halved or doubled, and cooking time adjusted accordingly. No fancy canning equipment required - just beautiful, fresh organic ingredients, some clean glass jars and a couple of hours in the kitchen.
You will need:
2kg ripe tomatoes
2 large (or 3 smaller) cooking apples
2 large (or 3 smaller) brown onions
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 cup Ceres apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Ceres coconut sugar
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
Clean glass jars and lids
What to do:
Sterilise your empty jars by placing them into a preheated oven at 130°C for 15 minutes. Remove using oven mitts and place on a wooden chopping board (placing them directly onto the bench can cause cracking). If your lids have rubber seals, sterilise these separately by immersing in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, then allowing to fully air dry.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil, and fill a large bowl (or sink) with ice cold water. Parboil your tomatoes in batches, for a minute each batch, then immediately remove the tomatoes from the boiling pot and place them into the cold water. You will then be able to slip the skins off the tomatoes easily, after this just remove their cores and chop roughly.
Place the chopped tomatoes into a large pot over a low heat. Peel, core and dice your apples, dice your onions and finely chop or grate your garlic cloves before adding these to the pot also, along with all the other ingredients. Bring the pot to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for an hour or more, until well thickened. You will know your chutney is done when you can drag a finger through a coated spoon and the trail remains.
Carefully spoon the chutney into sterilised jars, put the lids on and leave to cool on the bench - enjoying the sounds of the seals popping as your background music for the duration. Once completely cool, transfer to a cupboard where your chutney will store for up to a year, getting you through to the next tomato season. Once opened, store your chutney in the fridge. If the seals have failed on any jars, keep these in the fridge and consume first.