Spice up your life with Spicy Tomato Relish

Tomatoes are such a staple and very plentiful and quite well priced up here at the moment and I couldn't imagine life without them, could you? I still had some tomatoes that I bought at Merinda near Bowen, on the way home from Cairns which really needed to be used. I have always loved my Mum's easy tomato relish recipe, but just recently I have been enjoying relishes with a a bit more zing and heat to them, especially when eating cheesy vegetable muffins or vegetable fritters or glazed meats.

Tomato Relish Passata

Bowen tomatoes are a must if you are travelling north. This recipe is adapted from my Tomato Relish recipe, to become a thick passata suitable for pizza bases and bolognese sauce or other Italian dishes.  I was just given some ripening and cheaply priced Bowen tomatoes by our friend Paul,  who bought them from a roadside stall just near Bowen.  After ripening in my kitchen, they cooked up beautifully.

Ingredients:

3 kgs tomatoes
4 large onions
1 clove garlic
1 chilli (according to your taste)
1-2 cups sugar (according to your taste)
1 tablsp. curry powder (optional)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cups red wine vinegar or other good quality vinegar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil and oregano

Method:

Quarter the tomatoes and chop the onions and chilli finely.
Crush the garlic.
Add all of the ingredients to a large pot and bring to the boil.
Reduce to a simmer for 2 hours and reduce the mixture by a quarter. Cook longer if needed.
Place a teaspoon of the mixture in a small bowl, allow to cool and taste it, and then season with salt and pepper or add other ingredients according to taste.

Allow to cool slightly and fill your warm sterilised bottles.

Easy Tomato Relish

This is my Mum's recipe for Tomato Relish, which she was never without in her pantry, and I still think it is the best tomato relish I have ever tasted. I have fond memories of eating it around the kitchen table at home with cheese and biscuits. It is now also a staple in our home, and our children love it as well.

This recipe can also be adapted to a flavoursome tomato passata according to your taste, which can be used for pizza bases, pasta sauces, or whenever tomato passata is needed.

Ingredients:

500 g (1 lb) Ripe Tomatoes (skinned)
500 g (1 lb) onions
1 cup sugar
1 dessertspoon Curry Powder
1 teaspoon Mustard Powder
1 cup White Vinegar
salt to taste
cornflour to thicken

Method:

1. Prepare and skin the tomatoes by blanching them, place them in iced water, remove the skins and chop them into quarters.
2. Chop the onions finely.
3. Place all ingredients except salt and cornflour in the pot and bring to the boil and then simmer until cooked and mixture is reduced by a quarter. Stir occasionally.
4. When cooked, add salt to taste.
5. Thicken with cornflour and water mixed to a thin paste, and simmer gently for a few more minutes.
6. Allow to cool slightly and fill your sterilised bottles.
7. Turn the bottles upside down for 15 minutes to seal them properly

Warm wishes

Pauline