Beech tree in all its glory
Autumn is the most vibrant season of the year with the full spectrum of orange, browns, yellows and reds shining out from the hedgerows and fields.
It’s also the time of year most associated with harvesting and preserving and I can’t help but wish those glorious reds (or even a hint of yellow or orange) had extended into my polytunnel and were now the main colour of my tomatoes! Instead, around two-thirds of this years tomato crop are still green. Healthy but definitely green, which has left me once again trawling through the recipe books so as not to waste the harvest. October is also the month for picking red chilli peppers and Bramley cooking apples, making this a deliciously seasonal chutney.
Green Belle and Celine Tomatoes and Mixed Chilli Peppers
When we blog recipes we often worry that we’re not crediting them correctly but given that I’m rubbish at following them and usually end up adding ingredients or leaving some out, making up recipes can come quite naturally as a result. On this occasion it appears to have worked as initial tasting is quite sumptuous (and most chutney recipes are based on a similar variety of ingredients anyway). The chutney is quite sweet yet because of the additional chilli peppers, leaves a fiery aftertaste (depending upon how many you add). The flavours can only improve over the next few weeks as they are allowed to blend.
The quantity given will make around nine jars of various sizes (I have a lot of green tomatoes!) so halve or quarter it to your own needs.
Ingredients
1.6kg green tomatoes, diced
400g Bramley cooking applies, diced
600g red or white onions or scallions, diced
1-3 red chilli peppers to taste
4 cloves garlic
500ml cider vinegar
2.5cm piece root ginger, finely chopped or grated
160g sultanas
400 g soft brown sugar
Add all the ingredients to a large stainless steel saucepan, bring to the boil then simmer for around an hour or two or until liquid has a firmer consistency and isn’t as runny and the ingredients resemble a chunky chutney.
Empty into freshly sterilised jars and seal whilst the ingredients are hot. Leave for around three weeks to allow the flavours to blend and settle before serving.
Chutney makes a delicious accompaniment to cheese and freshly baked bread.
Green Tomato and Red Chilli Chutney
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22 Comments
I just used your recipe,, smell wonderful, will let you know how it tastes is 3 weeks..
Ooh fab, please do! Had a sneaky taste of mine yesterday and now looking forward to it more than ever with some crusty bread and cheese 🙂
Love the sound of this green tomato chutney – does it go brown or more a lighter, greeny brown? My parents used to make a green tomato chutney that stayed vaguely greeny-brown – they’ve lost the original recipe and cannot recreate it!
Many thanks
Richard
Richard I’m so sorry but I honestly can’t remember. I made the chutney last year and its all gone so we must have enjoyed it, whatever its colour. Perhaps you could make a small batch and see?
[…] have a large quantity of green tomatoes left at the end of the growing season and have made as much chutney as you can manage, I’d recommend whizzing what’s left in a food processor, bagging the […]
I have made a batch of this yesterday and it was so easy to make . One jar wasn’t quite full so my husband has made a start on it already ! It’s delicious warm too 😉
Thankyou for sharing your recipe
Helen I’m delighted to hear you liked the chutney and it was such a success, it’s great to receive feedback on recipes shared, thanks so much for commenting 🙂
[…] else fails you might like to try a couple of recipe ideas for green tomatoes – the first a green tomato and chilli chutney and secondly (I promise you’ll never know they’re in there) green tomato buns which are […]
Am about to try your recipe but realized you don’t say if the garlic is crushed/sliced or added and removed before bottling .
Good to hear you’re going to try it Valerie 🙂 I don’t have a crusher so always peel then squash garlic cloves using the back of a blade then chop them and yes, leave the garlic in.
Thank you Dee that was what I was going to do as I prefer to squash garlic, I do have press but don’t like it seems to waste more than use plus its more washing up. Will let you know how it turns out
Great, hope you like it 🙂
[…] Don’t panic. Don’t try to ripen them, but use the tomatoes green. Our favourite chutney is the green tomato and chilli recipe linked here and nobody will ever know you’ve added them to your iced buns! And fried green tomatoes […]
I have never made anything like this before or cooked with chillies, so can you tell me do you slice, chop, deseed chillies or what
Hi Gill, chop the chillies finely before adding them, the seeds are hot so add them cautiously. I tend to use one chilli then stir and taste before adding another as it’s difficult to know how hot they’re going to be. Also be really careful when handling the chillies not to touch any sensitive parts of your body or it will hurt! Hope that helps, enjoy!
This looks fabulous! I have just discovered a forgotten vine full of green roma tomatoes and have an abundance of tiny toms still going in the corner of the garden. Do you peel the tomatoes first?
It is delicious! No, the skins will disintegrate as the chutney cooks. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Just made the chutney this morning it tastes and smells lovely only three weeks to wait before tasting
How was it? Did you enjoy?
Doubled the chillies and garlic…over time the flavour matures and it’s not hot or garlicky. If you use lighter sugars and vinegar it won’t go as dark..I like it dark and have added some prunes and dark sugar. An excellent recipe that is a generous base to allow you to split and experiment with variations…..try some mustard seeds and cilantro (coriander) seeds….and a splash garam masala for an Indian kick or Chinese 5 spice for an oriental taste. Very good thank you.
Thanks Martyn, definitely worth experimenting with different flavours and making it your own, some great suggestions there, thanks.
[…] you start harvesting, you can find lots of tomato recipes on the blog, including a great green tomato chutney if they haven’t all ripened by the end of the […]