Spicy Tomato Relish

We just had another beautiful week end at the coast with a great bunch of friends. I went crazy and cooked quite a few dishes out of the Jerusalem cookbook by Ottolenghi. These cookbooks are so good. Put one on your Xmas list if you don't have any. Refreshingly different from the normal, but then I have always loved Middle Eastern  and Jewish food. Really interesting salads and meat dishes, wonderful pulses and grains with spices, delicious! A lot of it not expensive either, but beautiful fresh ingredients and perfect for a big crowd. There are lots of sauces and condiments in them too, a lot based on garlic and lemon.
I am a huge relish, sauce and condiment fan. Maybe I need to write a new recipe book, just for sauces and relishes.
I particularly love making them at Xmas time and this tomato relish is a favourite. They are a great hostess gift or simply lovely to bring out to smarten up the barbequed meat or spread on a yummy sandwich, or fabulous on the morning after bacon and egg roll. Pretty good on a cheese platter with some cheddar or on some toast under a poached egg. Also fabulous to have with pies, sausage rolls or on a burger. Use your imagination ! Far more glamorous than the Aussie tomato sauce from a bottle. The following recipe is as always adaptable. You could add some chillies if you prefer it spicy hot. Start small, maybe 2 and taste as you go.





1 kilo red tomatoes
500 grams onion chopped
4 cloves garlic crushed
400 grams white sugar
500 mls white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds


Chop the onions and garlic and sauté in a little olive oil, in the saucepan you are going to cook the relish. Chop the tomatoes into large dice and add to the onion, garlic mixture with the white wine vinegar. Add the sugar and stir through and bring to a gentle simmer. Finally add the cumin, Worcestershire sauce and yellow mustard seeds. Simmer gently on the stove top, stirring about very ten minutes. As the mixture thickens and reduces it will spit as you stir so be careful. It takes approximately an hour to cook. It should be quite thick.
Spoon into sterilised jars.

Capsicum Chilli Relish

Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
As usual the Christmas meal was fabulous. We only had fifteen this year way less than normal but still managed to have far too much food. We always start with a smoke roasted salmon with caper berries, wasabi  mayonaise and some pickled red onions. I make the pita chips to go with it. Also this year I did an old favourite, the egg caviar which went down a treat  All of this was devoured with some French bubbly as we watched a flurry of Christmas paper and ribbon fly around the tree, as presents were unwrapped. Lots of fun and frivolity.
This year Bob cooked the turkey Gordon Ramsey style and I have to say it was sensational. Not to mention the carving. He began by  removing the drumsticks then the whole breast from the bird on each side along the bone and then cutting it quite easily down into slices. Presentation stunning! I am sure this method can be found on the internet.
We had a Saskia Beer black pig for the ham, always delicious. Lots of salads and crunchy spuds to accompany it. Christmas pud, beautiful berries, ice cream and brandy custard.... yum, chocolates, more champagne, more wine, more chocolates and as usual, some dancing !!
After we have finished the fabulous excesses of Christmas and are perhaps on holiday, you may like to make this very moreish relish, to go with the left over ham. Capsicums are plentiful now.
You need some left over sterile jars as well, to put the finished product into.I usually make this before Christmas and give it as a hostess gift for drinks parties.



12 red capsicums
6 onions
12  red chillies ( if you aren't a fan of too hot cut down on the amount )
12 garlic cloves
750 ml vinegar
8 cups white sugar
salt to taste

Place the capsicums,onions, chillies and garlic into the food processor and pulse till chopped, fairly small.
Place a large heavy based saucepan on top of the stove and fill with the vinegar and chopped capsicum,onion, garlic and chillies. Cook this for 1 hour on a slow simmer.
Add the sugar and stir until mixed in. Cook for a further 1 1/2 hours, but you must stir it every 10 minutes or so as the mixture gets quite thick, it will stick to the bottom of the pan. When you are stirring, be careful as it tends to spit at you and could cause a nasty burn.

Cool slightly and spoon into the sterile jars. It will make about 6-8 jars depending on the size you use.