Yesterday I taught a preserve making course at The School of Artisan Food at the Welbeck estate near Worksop. One of the recipes was a green tomato chutney, a great way to use up the otherwise left over unripe tomatoes from your greenhouse. Admittedly on the day we had a variety of unripe green tomatoes along with some red vine tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, so the students mixed and matched in their creations. At the end of the morning we had a variety of autumn browns, umbers and reds in the jars, from those who used solely green tomatoes to those that mixed the green tomatoes with the ripe red tomatoes.
Green Tomato Chutney
As you can see from my jars, I used a mixture of green and red tomatoes, (approximately half and half). This is a great chutney to make if you are new to chutney making, you can alter the spices and ingredients to your own preference, you may want to increase the cayenne pepper or substitute some of the tomatoes for peppers or zucchini. Have a go, now is the perfect time to fill up your store cupboard for the winter.
Green Tomato Chutney Recipe
Makes 1kg (approx 5 227g/8oz jars)
900g green tomatoes or a mix of green and red tomatoes – sliced
200g onion – diced
200g apple – peeled, cored and chopped
300ml cider vinegar
175g light soft brown sugar
1/2 tbsp sea salt
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp allspice
- Put the onion, apples and vinegar in a large pan and simmer gently for 10 minutes until the onions and apples have softened and are translucent.
- Slice the tomatoes and add to the pan along with the spices and salt.
- Bring to the boil.
- Add the sugar and stir well to combine.
- Simmer for 1 hour or until the mixture is thick and there is no liquid on the surface. To test that your chutney is ready, draw your wooden spoon across the base of the pan, it should leave a clear line in the mixture.
- Ladle into hot sterilised jars and seal.
