Tomato chutney recipe

I have made two batches of chutney this summer with my crop of tomatoes. The first recipe ended up being very sweet. This second recipe came from a book sent from a friend in Australia. It is a collection of home recipes compiled in the 1970's. This chutney has ended up being hot. It will work well with curries.

I have had a request from another friend for my recipe so here it is.

3kg ripe tomatoes

1 kg apples (green) I used granny smiths

500g onions

250g sultanas

600ml vinegar I used cider vinegar

1kg brown sugar

4 tsp salt

3 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Peel and cut up the tomatoes, apples and onions.

Boil all the ingredients together for 45 minutes. Then bottle and seal.

I used 2kg of tomatoes for my batch and factored the rest of the ingredients accordingly. I ended up with just over five 500ml Mason jars of chutney.

You peel tomatoes by immersing them in boiling water for a minute or so. I am so over peeling tomatoes!!!!!!!!!

Now to try a peach chutney recipe with the black boy peaches!

Layered lamb and potato bake

A few weeks ago I tried this slow cooker recipe for the first time. It turned out to be really good so I am putting it up here to share. The original is in the Holst 'Popular Potatoes' book. My American friends will have to convert the measures to pounds and ounces, etc.

for 6 servings:

800g floury potatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1 large onion

1 large clove garlic

I Tbsp oil

1.2-1.5kg (about 8) lamb shoulder chops

1 x 400g can diced tomatoes in juice

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

chopped basil or parsley to serve (optional)

Turn your slow cooker to LOW and coat with non-stick spray.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes.

Arrange the potatoes in a layer in the slow cooker and sprinkle with the salt.

Peel and chop the onion and garlic.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion has softened.

While the onion cooks, arrange the lamb chops in a layer on top of the potatoes.

When the onion is ready, stir the tomatoes and juice, tomato paste, vinegar and oregano into the pan. Season to taste, then bring the sauce to the boil.

Pour the onion and tomato mixture over the lamb.

Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.

To serve, carefully move the chops to one side. Divide the potatoes between plates, place a chop on top of each and spoon over some of the sauce. garnish with some chopped parsley or basil if you wish.

Enjoy!

Monday 1st February - another kind of road-kill

It has been raining most days for the last 3 weeks... very, very unusual for Hawke's Bay summer... the countryside is a very unseasonal green! We have just had six inches of rain in the last 36 hours! Lakes and new streams abound! The wet weather and the warm temperatures has resulted in an explosion in the frog population. They are everywhere.

The usual candidates for road-kill here are possums and rabbits. On the way home from Taradale last night, J remarked that with dozens of frogs jumping all over the road, the frogs were a new kind of road-kill.