Roast tomato and capsicum relish

Even though it is officially Autumn here, it is still 30C every day and not much cooler at night.  We are still sleeping naked with just a sheet over us.  Just pretend I didn't say that if the image is too much for your tender sensibilities.:=)

So here I am making tomato relish in my huge 9 litre chutney/jam pot, which to me brings thoughts of large amounts of veggies for soups and stews, to keep you warm on a cold winter's day.  But relish is good any time of year, isn't it?  I wanted to make a tasty version for Mr P.'s sandwiches, using the local tomatoes that we bought at Boonah on our recent country drive.  

Mr P.'s lunchtime sandwich - he couldn't wait!   

Mr P. and I were amazed that in a smallish country town they had so many greengrocers.  We also dropped in at Poppi's Health Food Store, soon to be joined by a wholefood cafe.  I think it has only just moved into the old bank building last week. You can still see the bank vault with the huge metal door, which now has shelves for healthy foods.  We were amused to hear a grumpy old couple stomping around the shop, complaining that the café wasn't ready for customers yet.  (And no, that grumpy couple wasn't us!)

Anyway I am wittering on here.  Let's get to it.  Here is my roast veggie relish cum chutney, using local Boonah tomatoes, home grown garlic from Maree of Around the Mulberry Tree, and chillies that I picked from our neighbour's bush and froze some time ago.


An original recipe by SherrysPickings:


ingredients:


To roast:

1 kg. tomatoes

500g. red onions

700g. red capsicum (red peppers)

2-3 large garlic cloves

2-3 small red chillies (the hot ones)

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tbs olive oil

1 tsp sea salt 

a few grinds of black pepper


To boil:

2-3 tsp minced/chopped ginger

big pinch nutmeg

2 pinches allspice

700 mls. vinegar

500g. white sugar

1 tbs yellow mustard seeds or 1/2-1 tbs mustard powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbs sea salt 

scant 1/2 cup (85g.) sultanas or raisins



Method:


Roughly chop the tomatoes, onions and capsicums

Throw them into a large baking dish

Add the roughly chopped garlic and chillies 

Now add the brown sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper

Give it all a good stir

Bake for 30 minutes at 180C till they have started to cook down and are getting a bit black at the edges

Give the veggies a stir and place back in the oven for another 30 minutes

Take the dish out of the oven and stir in the ginger, nutmeg and allspice

Put aside while you grab a large pot and place the vinegar and white sugar in it

Stir together and keep stirring while the sugar dissolves

Bring the mixture to the boil and let it boil for 10 minutes

Tip in the roasted veggies with the mustard seeds, cayenne, salt and sultanas

Boil for about 40-50 minutes till it has reduced and thickened - make sure you keep an eye on it, and stir regularly

Let it cool for a few minutes then grab a stick blender and whizz away till smooth

Spoon into sterilised, hot jars (wash in hot soapy water and dry in a low oven for 15 minutes) and seal immediately



Makes about 1.2 kg of relish


Tips:


I used a microplane grater for the ginger which minced it easily

You can roast the veggies a day ahead as I did and make the relish the next day (or 2)

I used a mix of vinegars - white wine, verjuice, and apple cider vinegar

I boiled the relish fairly gently for about 45 minutes, then turned up the heat and boiled it for another 15 minutes, but it would be quicker with the faster boil from the get-go

gather your ingredients  

throw the roughly chopped veggies into a baking dish  

in goes the brown sugar, olive oil and salt    

looking squishy and smelling fragrant   

microplaning minces the ginger beautifully  

stir the vinegar and sugar together and boil for 10 minutes   

boil for 40-50 minutes till thickened - or longer if needed  

blitz till smooth   

rich, fruity relish ready to go

hey you can see next door's tank back there :=)  

Mr P. had to eat some straightaway on his lunchtime sanger   

    my spoon doodle - lots of stirring involved here