Green tomato chutney recipe

This green tomato chutney is the perfect accompaniment to your next plate of cheese and crackers.

Tart, tangy and more acidic in nature, we’ve captured the great taste of green tomatoes in this wholesome homemade chutney. Unlike our tomato chutney recipe, this delicious preserve gets its sweetness from the cooking apples and sultanas and tastes great with hard cheeses like Cheddar and Comte. Try making this green tomato chutney when it’s star ingredient is in season (usually late summer) and serve on a decadent platter of cheese and cold meats. Unlike Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage green tomato chutney recipe, this version doesn’t contain courgettes or marrows.

Ingredients

For the green tomato chutney:

• 1kg (2¼lb) green tomatoes,roughly chopped
• 2 onions, peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 30g (1oz) fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
• 3 large cooking apples, peeled, pips removed and chopped
• 250g (8oz) sultanas or raisins
• 1 level tbs yellow mustard seeds
• 1 level tbs salt
• 5cm (2in) piece cinnamon
• 2 pieces star anise
• 300ml (½ pint) cider vinegar
• 150ml (¼ pint) orange juice
• 500g (1lb) light muscovado sugar

You'll also need:

• Sterilised jars with vinegar-proof lids

Method

1. Put all of the ingredients, except the muscovado sugar,into a preserving pan or large non-aluminium pan. Place the pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 1-1½ hours, or until the ingredients have softened.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Return the pan to the heat and simmer the mixture gently for about 1 hour, or until the mixture has thickened. The mixture will need stirring occasionally to begin with but, as it thickens, it will need mor regular stirring to make sure that it doesn’t catch and burn the base of the pan.
3. Spoon the chutney into warm jars, ensuring that there are no air bubbles trapped in the mixture. Leave it to go cold, then cover the jars with vinegar-proof lids.

Tips for making green tomato chutney:

Chutneys, particularly spiced chutneys, originated from India and made their way to England and France in the early 1600s. The Hindu word loosely means ‘to lick’ or ‘to eat with appetite’.