Red Tomato Chutney

The gazpacho didn’t use up all of my tomatoes, so I will shortly be making one of my favourite chutneys – Red Tomato Chutney. When the weather turns and the tomatoes on the vines are not likely to ripen any more I pick all the green tomatoes and put them in a bucket with a couple of ripe tomatoes – a week or so later all the green tomatoes will have ripened.

Ingredients

• 3 kg ripe red tomatoes
• 500 g white sugar (the white sugar gives the chutney it’s glorious red colour)
• 20 g salt
• 1 pinch paprika
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 300 ml spiced white wine vinegar (see separate recipe)

Method

Blanch the tomatoes for 30 seconds in fast boiling water. Put into cold water, then skin. Cut up tomatoes and remove the hard cores. Put into a saucepan with a very little water, bring gently to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until thick.

Add all the other ingredients, stirring in well. Continue cooking until the whole mixture is thick. Put a spoonful on a cold plate to test its consistency. When ready, pour into hot jars or bottles, and cover at once.

n.b. the final colour of the chutney depends largely on the redness of the tomatoes and the use of white sugar and vinegar. To give it a good texture, it should be processed without pause once the tomatoes are blanched.