Green tomato chutney recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chutney and Pickles | 40 comments
Green tomatoes – our red brandywine crop
A couple of days ago I discovered that our Red Brandywine tomato plants in the front garden were showing all the early signs of blight. They were ripped out immediately before the blight could spread to the other plants and I was left with 3 kilos (over 6 1/2 pounds) of giant green tomatoes.
I’ve been meaning to develop a recipe for green tomato chutney for ages and this was the final kick up the butt to actually do something about it. I repaired to bed with the trusty Min Pins and submerged myself in a green tomato chutney recipe shaped world. I wanted to make a summery sort of chutney that could be used with fish and chicken dishes as well as with curries and cheese.
Eventually I spent the evening in the kitchen making this – it’s light, tangy and the zingy mix of spices works extremely well. It’s delicious already although I’d recommend leaving it for a month to mature and the flavours to develop even more. Incidentally the lemon in the recipe adds a sparkle and takes away the need for salt as an ingredient. So this tasty chutney is ideal for those on a low salt diet.
| Green tomato chutney recipe |
- 1 kilo (2 1/4 pounds or 6 1/4 cups) of chopped green tomatoes
- 35g (1/4 cup) of chopped red onion
- 1 Thin skinned lemon (mine was 100g – 3 1/2 ounces) quartered (skin on) and sliced as fine as you can (remove pips)
- 100g (1/4 pound or 2/3 cup) of sultanas
- 250g (1 1/4 cups) of pale brown sugar
- 10g (1 tablespoon) of fresh ginger (skinned and finely chopped)
- 10g (1 tablespoon) of fresh garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
- 10g (1 tablespoon) of green chilli pepper (deseeded and sliced fine)
- The juice from one small orange (mine weighed 150g or just over 5 ounces)
- 250ml (1 cup) of white wine vinegar
- 2 cloves
- 5 cardamom pods (just the seeds)
- 1 small star anise
- 2 heaped teaspoons of coriander powder
- 2 heaped teaspoons of turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon of mixed peppercorns
- 1 heaped teaspoon of coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of yellow mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon of allspice berries
- In a large heavy bottomed saucepan/Maslin pan combine all the ingredients except the sugar.
- Heat gently.
- When the chutney starts to simmer add the sugar and stir constantly until you are certain that it has dissolved.
- Simmer the chutney stirring every now and then (and more towards the end of cooking) until the chutney has thickened.
- Ladle into warm sterilised jars and seal with plastic lined lids. Label when cool and store in a dark dry place.
Tips and Tricks
How do I get rid of tainted smells in pots?
If your cooking pot or container is tainted with the smell of the last resident (curry, tomato sauce etc). Sprinkle with a good tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda into it and add a good splosh of boiling water. Rub the solution over all surfaces and leave for two minutes. Rinse well in cold water.
How do I sterilise jars and lids?
The sterilising method that we use is simple. When the chutney is cooked, I quickly wash and rinse the jars and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c / 140c fan assisted (320f / 285f). When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The jars will stay warm for quite a while. I only use plastic lined metal lids for preserves as the all-metal lids can go rusty. I boil these for five minutes in water to sterilise them. If I use Le Parfait jars, I do the same with the rubber rings.
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I’ve just made this chutney and it’s delicious, the citrus ingredients work really well and overall there’s a great depth of flavour with a taste of summer. Fabulous.
I love this recipe, but don’t have any green tomatoes . Can I use red ? I’d be grateful for your advice
Green tomato chutney recipe
Nice and spicy, great flavours. I put the tomato, and onion in my food processor and pulsed. Speeded up the prep time.
Hi, rather than wasting the orange zest by using only the juice, can I use the orange zest too, would it spoil the chutney?
Thanks.