Autumn is here. What does that mean? Well one thing is for sure. If you havn’t started already, it’s probably time to make a few jams and chutneys and preserves with the last of your summer fruit. Stonefruit are always a personal favourite for all of the above and the a virtually spilling from the gate of a farm just down the road. I would have processed at least 120kg of stonefruit this year alone. Cherry tomatoes are another thing I have had in abundance this year. Combined with chillis from our ever productive chilli bush for another of my personal fav’s, mmm, cherry tomato, red capsicum and chilli jam. Zucchini and cucumber pickles, and the list goes on… And what about all of the tomatoes still left on your plants the aren’t going to ripen? Compost those suckers right?
Wrong! So very, very wrong.
Wrong like what the guy who discovered milk was doing with the cow before that life changing discovery was made.
If you said “let’s make green tomato chutney”, then you are my favourite student and you get to move to the top of the class. Great werk! The rest of you really need to pick your game up!

GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY

1kg green tomatoes, diced (if you want to get all cheffy about it, you can peel the tomatoes* first)

2 brown onions, diced

6 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

600ml apple cider vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbls each gimger, yellow mustard seed, salt

1 tspn each ground coriander, white pepper, chilli flakes

1/2 cinnamon stick

2 cloves

Just to keep things nice and simple we’ll just whack everything into a heavy based pot and simmer over a low for a couple of hours, stirring often. Why often? That’s right. So it doesn’t burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.

And what about that challenge for Beaver? When is that gonna happen? Beaver… BEAVER…

*to peel tomatoes. Cut a small cross into the bottom of the tomato, drop into a pot of boiling water (or maybe just place them nicely if you don’t want the burns and pain that come with this crazy decision), and then plunge into iced water. This will loosen the skin and make the tomatoes nice and easy to peel.