Tomato and Fruit Chutney

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In my previous recipe for Spicy Cornmeal Breadsticks with Graviera and Tomato Chutney, I had used some of this Tomato Chutney I had recently made.

I’ ve been hearing about Tomato Chutneys for many years now, so it was about time to make some and see if it was as amazing as I had heard.

Chutneys originate in India and is a thick sauce that is made from fruits, vinegar, sugar, and spices.  The most appropriate English translation for it would be a relish but it also is a savoury kind of jam.  It is usually served as a condiment but it is so versatile that it can be used in many other recipes as well.

I have already served it as a dip with breadsticks, on top of lentils, with pasta (a recipe to follow),  with lamb souvlakia, on pizza, with fish and corn patties and I can think of many more ways to use it in the future.

By the time I got to post the recipe, we already ate the first batch and needless to say how much we loved it as last Saturday I made a second batch using 5 kilos of beautiful, ripe tomatoes, keeping the summer flavours for the winter to come.

Before making it, I read a few recipes to get the whole idea of what a chutney is and from there on I proceeded to make my own chutney .

I am very proud that I made a unique umami chutney combined with the reaming flavours of  sweet, sour, salty and bitter but also spicy.

To make my tomato chutney I used ripe tomatoes, a peach, a nectarine and a pear, which were the fruit I had at the time.  I did not make it too sweet as suggested in many recipes, but used some light brown sugar and honey, I used dried hot chilies and added bitter orange juice.  This time of the year is not really the time to find bitter oranges but my house is surrounded  by them, so I did find some on the trees, to get enough juice.  I also used an amazing prized aged nectar of vinegar made of fruit, which all combined together made this delicious chutney.

My husband is not fond of spicy food but the fact that he loved it, is proof enough for me that it was delicious.

Tomato and Fruit Chutney

Preparation time:  1 hour

Cooking time: about 2 hours

Makes: about 1 kilo chutney

Ingredients:

• 1750 grams tomatoes, diced
• 1 peach, pitted, peeled and diced
• 1 nectarine, pitted peeled and diced
• 1 pear, pitted and diced (skin on)
• 3 small to medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp roasted garlic, mashed
• 10 hot, dried mini chili peppers, cut into smaller pieces
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• ½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp cumin
• 3 tbsp Himalayan salt
• 1/4 cup bitter orange juice
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp elixir of vinegar nectar

Directions:

1. Wash and dice the tomatoes.  Put them in a colander with the sea salt for 10 minutes to drain some of the water.  Mix with the fruit.
2. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent.
3. Add the mashed garlic, the hot peppers and the remaining spices and mix.
4. Add the tomatoes and fruit.
5. Add sugar, honey, bitter orange juice, Worcestershire sauce and both vinegars and mix.
6. Bring to a boil covered.
7. You will see that a lot of juices have been released.
8. Lower the heat to medium, keep the lid ajar and continue simmering, keeping an eye on it and mixing every now and then, until the juices have been reduced considerably and the sauce thickens.
9. Turn off the heat and wait until the next morning. (I keep it on the ceramic stove, so it continues cooking until it cools).
10. Next morning if there are still juices in the tomato chutney, bring to a boil again, without the lid this time, lower the heat and let it simmer until the sauce thickens, mixing regularly this time, as it may stick to the bottom of the pot.
11. Remove from the heat and wait until it cools before storing in sterilized jars.

You can find many more Greek recipes in my cookbook “More Than A Greek Salad”, and “Mint, Cinnamon & Blossom Water, Flavours of Cyprus, Kopiaste!” both available on all Amazon stores.

 

Other relevant recipes:

Spicy Tomato Sauce

Marinara Sauce

Tomato Pesto alla Trapanese

How to sterilize jars

Kopiaste

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,  

     

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