Green Tomato Relish

OK, I’m the first to admit it. As much as I looove food and eating, gardening does not come easy to me. Most years I keep at least my kitchen herbs alive, but I’m often on the go and my other plants suffer.

This year though, we had a new terrace and space for loads of delicious plants. After many happy months harvesting, autumn has arrived with a bang and we’re left with a few bunches of green tomatoes. So if you’re wondering what to do with green tomatoes, allow me to introduce: Green Tomato Relish or chutney.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ should be every good cook’s mantra, and after a summer of dutifully tending your tomatoes, it would be an awful waste to chuck the last tomatoes just because they arrive a little late.

This recipe is perfect for using up the last of the summer toms! It’s small batch, so you can start with as little as 500 g / 1 lb of tomatoes. I like to mix in some green bell pepper to stretch things out a little and add some green jalapeños for extra zing. It’s SO delicious and great on a cheeseboard or sandwich.

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Ingredients

To make my Spicy Green Tomato Relish recipe, you’ll need the following main ingredients:

• Green Tomatoes: The reason we are all here! I had a mixture this year of larger tomatoes and some very late green cherry tomatoes. They’re all good here, just chop them up to about the same size.
• Green Bell Pepper (Capsicum): A great add-in if you don’t have quite enough tomatoes to make up 500 g. Remove all of the bitter white pith inside.
• Jalapeños: My favourite chilli pepper! I use two and scrape away a few of the seeds if I test them and they seem a bit too spicy. If you love spice, add some more.
• Onions: Plain white or yellow cooking onions are best for this recipe.
• Spices: I like the flavour of the tomatoes to shine here, so I don’t use too much to get in the way. Lemony coriander seeds (lightly crushed), mustard seeds, turmeric, and a bit of celery salt. Yum.
• Sugar, Salt, and Vinegar: Even though you can’t keep tomatoes lovely and bright green after cooking, I use white sugar and white vinegar for the best possible colour.

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Instructions

Once upon a time I had a stall at the markets selling pickles, chutney, jam, and other preserves (thousands of them!), and let me tell you, Green Tomato Relish is one of the easiest. There are only three main steps!

1. Wash and chop all your vegetables, and sterilise your jars.
2. Combine the vegetables, spices, salt, sugar, and vinegar in a saucepan, bring to the boil, and simmer for around 45 minutes.
3. If you fancy, you can thicken the relish with a touch of corn starch. Otherwise, the last step is to bottle it up in the jars and enjoy!

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Homemade Green Tomato Relish

Jay Wadams

Green Tomato Relish (or chutney!) is the ideal recipe for using up the last of the summer tomatoes. With spicy jalapeños, this relish or chutney is SO good on a cheeseboard, with cold meats, or sandwiches. (Makes 2-3 Cups / 500-750 ml)

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Serves 20

Ingredients

 

• ▢ 500 g green tomatoes, see notes
• ▢ 150 g white onions
• ▢ 2 green jalapeños
• ▢ 1 small green bell pepper
• ▢ 200 ml white or cider vinegar
• ▢ 150 g white sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
• ▢ 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ▢ ½ tsp celery salt
• ▢ ½ tsp turmeric

optional:

• ▢ 1 tsp corn starch, mixed with a little water

Instructions

 

• PREP: Wash, then chop tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, and pepper into small, even pieces.
  500 g green tomatoes, 150 g white onions, 2 green jalapeños, 1 small green bell pepper
• COOK BASE: In a wide saucepan, combine veg with vinegar, sugar, salt, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, celery salt, and turmeric.
  200 ml white or cider vinegar, 150 g white sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp celery salt, ½ tsp turmeric
• SIMMER: Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30–40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables have softened and the mixture has thickened.
• OPTIONAL: At around the half-hour mark, if the vegetables have softened to your liking (try a spoonful, but caution — hot and vinegary), you can stretch the pickle a little further by mixing the corn starch with some cold water, then drizzling into the simmering relish until it thickens slightly (don't overdo it, it thickens as it cools).
  1 tsp corn starch
• JAR: Ladle hot relish into sterilised jars. Seal and cool. If you have concerns about longer storage, process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Notes

If you have less than 500g of green tomatoes, add extra bell pepper.

To sterilise glass jars: Wash well with hot soapy water, rinse, drain, and place in an oven dish at 120°C / 250°F for 25 minutes.
To sterilise lids: Place in a heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water, stand for 5 minutes, then drain.

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Nutrition

Serving: 2Tbsp | Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 0.5g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.02g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 196mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 183IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Tried this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Please leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.

Course | Light Bites, Preserves

Cuisine | American, European

Ⓒ | Jay Wadams

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