Red Tomato Chutney

My neighbour has grown huge amounts of the best tasting tomatoes this summer and I have been fortunate to be a recipient.

I made jars of chutney and passata (recipe following)

The chutney recipe is from my book "The Art of Preserving" and it is tried and true. Most chutney recipes are very forgiving so I suggest you add whatever seasonings you prefer i.e. ginger, coriander or chilli.

In this recipe I used a variety of fruits, mainly because they were on my trees!

1 cup white wine vinegar

2 cups brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Small knob fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon celery seeds

2 teaspoons salt

2 kg ripe tomatoes, chopped

(You can blanch and peel if you don't like a bit of skin but it tends to get lost in the other ingredients)

500g cooking apples,peeled, cored and chopped

250g dried figs, ( fresh if you have them) chopped

250g pears, peeled and chopped ( can use dried)

3/4 cup sultanas

3/4 cup raisins

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Place the vinegar and sugar in a large nonreactive pan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil for 1 minute, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours or until thick. Ladle into warmed, sterilised jars, leave to cool then seal. The chutney has more flavour after storing for a month.

Makes about 8 cups.