Kiwisizzler

Welcome Back to Spain

What can I say about Spain? So the pace is a little slower and life a bit simpler…but what’s wrong with that? A week in this beautiful and passionate country has left me relaxed and with an appetite  for more. Spain is a country that has kept up with the rest of the developing world but has not forgotten where it came from. As a tourist, getting around could only be simpler if there weren’t so many one-way and pedestrian-only streets but that is what keeps the Spanish history preserved and alive. If exploring was too easy we wouldn’t appreciate the effort taken to ‘discover’ the real gems.

12 Varieties of Oysters

Starting in Madrid for a stag weekend I was introduced to the modern Spain. This involved buying ice-cold beers from dodgy west-asians on the street and nibbling on pizza at 4am, all in the company of half a dozen chefs. The next night, after a day of stagly antics and lounging about in beautiful squares, we evolved to sampling tapas in one of the best markets in the city, followed by more tapas in bar after bar, hunting down the specialities of each kitchen. At the ‘Meson del Champinon’, for example, we ate mushrooms grilled with the offcuts of Iberican ham, garlic, herbs and oil. Simple and delicious. It may be a cliche to eat in such a tourist-flooded place but the food was genuine, generous and simple. The staff had been there for years (one of them twenty-four years and counting!) and they took genuine pride in their menu which consisted of only four or five specialities. We also sampled Boquerones en Escabeche (pickled anchovies), the unrelenting ‘patatas bravas’ and one of my favourites, sauteed baby green peppers – they always slip a hot

At the House of Mushrooms

green chilli in there somewhere!  After far too much eating and an over-consumption of beer and sangria we stumbled into a fantastic flamenco bar, ‘Arco de Cuchilleros’. Again, it was in all the tourist guides but we left feeling more than satisfied, especially with yet more of the fantastic Iberican arorn-fed cured ham, served at a rather humid room temperature leaving our fingers succulently greasy.

After a short sleep and a fun day of stag-related events and embarrassment, I joined my better half and her mother to continue our week of exploring and digesting.

I introduced them to the culinary haunts of the previous night for our dinner we had a good kip and headed off to Toledo, a world heritage protected town perched on a hill surrounded by a river on three sides. The highlight dish was a typical Toledan stew called ‘carcamusas’, made from pork and traditionally served in an earthenware pot. We were served this with a selection of ‘snacks’ based around sliced of baguette topped with flavours such as brie, roasted peppers, Iberican cured ham and the like.

Tapas Heaven!

After getting our fill in Toledo we made our way to Cordoba. With late notice we were lucky to get a room at one of the comfy hotels in the historic part of town known as The Juderia. The hotel came complete with its own patio, the traditional garden in the center of so many restored buildings in Spain. It was the perfect spot to enjoy breakfast the next morning.

That night we headed to a recommended restaurant, ‘Bodegas Mezquita’, directly opposite the ancient Mezquita (which is a mosque with a christian church inside). We enjoyed a variety of tapas including oxtail croquettes and crispy-fried calamari. This was followed by another hit of flamenco dancing and music at ‘Tablao Cardenal’. Impressive stuff!

After a bit more sightseeing the next day, we continued on our journey to Seville. Our accommodation was again in the historic centre, close to the sights and only a minute’s walk to any of a dozen restaurants. We did the usual sightseeing and ended up eating dinner at one of our guidebook’s recommended restaurants, ‘Restaurante Corral del Agua’ which had the most beautiful courtyard full of trees and ceramics dotted around the walls. Our maitre’d gave us the most wonderful service and stayed to chat about our food and wine. We started with some traditional gazpacho, the refreshing chilled tomato soup garnished with diced onion and peppers and a sumptuously light fritatta and followed it with braised bull’s tail, chicken with almonds and ‘flamenquin’ pieces of pork tenderloin wrapped in Iberican ham and breadcrumbs.

Bar Las Terasas

The following day we took a late lunch at Las Terasas, a very popular tapas bar with a ceiling covered with hanging cured hams. The locals must get sick of tourists taking up all the tables but one of the waiters spoke Japanese so I’m guessing they are happy for the extra business. We shared some superb marinated olives, slow-roasted peppers on crostini and thin slices of divine Iberican pork sausage.

Your Typical Spanish Deli

After our last night in Seville we departed on the last leg of our journey, to Granada. On the way we had a familiar, farmy smell pierce its way into our car. When we stopped for gas we worked it out. Olives as far as the eye could see! Apparently Spain is an even bigger producer of olives than Italy. Quite a feat!

Granada offered the fantastic Alhambra, the most visited tourist site in all of Spain. It was formerly a fortress, citadel and palace over the ages and contains reputedly the most beautiful Islamic architecture in Europe. We concurred and followed our visit with a meal at a local taverna. We’d been hanging out for paella but since it is a Valencian dish, being seafood-based, we had held off until our final night. The Granadans did themselves proud and we enjoyed a thoroughly simple dish done very well. It was packed with fresh seafood and had a crispy base, a sign of quality in a paella.

España bien hecha…well done Spain. We can’t wait to return for more!

Here’s a delicious combination that is well worth the extra preparation time and effort. Perfect for a chilly autumn evening.

Make a batch of braised oxtail. I would suggest discarding the vegetables at the end of cooking, keeping only the meat stripped from the bones. Prepare some fresh salsify. Once peeled, thinly slice on an angle, blanch (to pre-cook) in boiling water and refresh immediately in very cold water. Put aside until ready to use.

Finely chop some shallots. Heat a little oil and add the shallots. Gently sweat without colour over a low heat. Add your rice and saute gently for a minute or so until it becomes slightly translucent. Add some white wine to just cover the rice and stir gently until just dissolved.

Add some chicken stock to cover, stir over a low heat until absorbed.

Add your salsify and some more chicken stock and cook until absorbed. Keep adding stock until the rice is al dente (firm to the bite) but cooked.

Add some chopped chives, salt, pepper, a knob of butter and some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Heat your oxtail in a little of the oxtail cooking liquor.

Serve the risotto topped with the oxtail and garnished with some fresh morels mushrooms (or replace with porcinis or chestnut mushrooms) sauteed in a little butter and moistened with a little of the oxtail braising liquor. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For more information and recipes for risotto click here.

Salsify is also known as scorzonera, black root, vegetable oyster or goats’ beard and is a member of the dandelion family. Both the leaves and root are edible with the root having a black skin and creamy white flesh, similar to parsnip but much longer in length.

It is thought that salsify originated from Spain and it is common throughout southern Europe. It is delicious served steamed, roasted or boiled and has a mild oystery flavour.

To prepare salsify, wash and then peel. To prevent oxidisation the peeled root should be immersed in acidulated water – that is water with a little lemon juice or vinegar added.

This recipe is fantastic as a starter or even as the main event for a relaxed lunch with friends. Perfect with a fresh rocket and parmigiano reggiano salad, drizzled with aged balsamic and extra virgin olive oil.

For the Red Onion Marmalade:

2 Tbsp olive oil

600g red onion – sliced 3mm thick

2 bay leaves

125g demerara sugar (or better still – dark muscavado)

100ml balsamic vinegar

100ml port

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a low heat.
2. Add the onions and bay leaves. Sweat over a low heat, stirring regularly until soft and starting to sweeten. This should take at least 20 minutes.
3. Add the sugar and cook until any liquid is evaporated, around 40 minutes. Stir regularly. You should have only 25% of the original volume of onions at this point.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar, increase the heat and reduce until nice and sticky. Stir regularly.
5. Add the port and reduce until nice and sticky. Stir regularly.
6. Allow to cool until you are ready to use the marmalade.

For the Tart:

350g short pastry

Flour for dusting

Blind-baking beans (I use rice)

Red onion marmalade

100g blue cheese (I used a delicious British cheese called ‘Blacksticks Blue’)

2 large eggs

150ml single cream

Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 165C.
2. Roll out the pastry on a well-floured bench.
3. Roll the floured pastry around the rolling pin and unroll onto a lightly greased flan tin.
4. Give the pastry lots of slack as it will have stretched during rolling. Make sure the pastry is pressed into the corners of the flan tin.
5. Trim the edges of the pastry but leave around 1cm of excess around the edges. This can be trimmed after cooking.
6. Cover the pastry base with cling film and rice or baking beans. Blind bake the pastry for around 10 minutes, remove the beans or rice and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until base is set and lightly golden.
7. Cover the base of the pastry with onion marmalade – you may not need all of it. Keep the rest to serve with your favourite pate.
8. Dot the cheese randomly over the onions.
9. Mix the eggs and cream and season with salt and pepper.
10. Pour the egg mix over the onion and cheese.
11. Bake for around 20 minutes or until egg is set and golden.
12. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

The origins of this simple Sicilian staple take us back to around 1000A.D, when the Kalbids ruled Sicily as a Shia Muslim dynasty. At this time Sicily was an important island economically, being the gateway to Europe for Northern Africa, and it was during this period that the muslims introduced lemons, Seville oranges and sugar cane.

Resembling an orange, both in colour and shape, arancine or arancini are distinctly Sicilian. Arancia is Italian for orange with arancici being Italian for little orange. There are other versions such as the supli from Rome which is also made from rice with a filling of mozzarella and tomato sauce and then crumbed and fried. In some parts of Sicily arancine are often cone-shaped.

To keep it simple, we make a slightly undercooked risotto and put a tasty filling in the centre. After that we crumb it and deep-fry. The filling can be practically anything you want. The classics include flavours such as ragu (bolognaise sauce to us plebs), mozzarella and basil or even sauteed wild mushrooms.

1 medium onion or 2 shallots – finely diced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

250g Arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano rice

250ml white wine

350ml chicken or vegetable stock

40g freshly grated parmesan cheeseSalt and pepper to taste

75g ham – shredded

100g buffalo mozzarella – chopped

10g fresh basil – shredded

2 Cups flour

2 eggs

200ml milk

250g breadcrumbs

1. Heat the oil in a wide-bottom pan over a low heat.
2. Add the diced onion and sweat gently without colour, stirring regularly, for around 5 minutes or until onions are soft and starting to sweeten.
3. Add the rice and sauté gently for 1 minute.
4. Add the wine and stir until absorbed.
5. Add the stock and continue stirring over a low until absorbed.
6. Remove from the heat and add the parmesan cheese.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Leave to cool.
9. Mix the ham, mozzarella and basil.
10. Flatten the cooled rice in the palm of one hand.
11. Put 1 tablespoon of the filling in the centre of the rice and form the rice around the filling. Mould the rice into nice ball.
12. Mix the egg and milk.
13. Roll the rice in the flour, then dip into the egg mix, then roll in the breadcrumbs.
14. Deep-fry in hot oil (around 180°C) until nice and golden. Test the core temperature by inserting a sharp knife. If the arancine is not hot to the core, finish in a hot oven.

Here’s a great recipe for using rhubarb. If you don’t have rhubarb then try using plums, summer stone fruit or even apple will work fine. The recipe may look like a big deal but each step is simple and the result is well worth the effort!

For the pastry:

250g flour

1g salt

150g butter

1 eggs – beaten

60g caster sugar

1. Sieve flour and salt together.

2. Rub in butter to give a granular texture.

3. Make a bay in centre, add the eggs and sugar and mix the ingredients into a light, smooth paste.

For the tart:

400g rhubarb

100g caster sugar

1 recipe sweet shortcrust pastry (or 350g if pre-made)

1 whole egg & 2 yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 Tablespoon flour

300ml cream

1. Cut the rhubarb into 1 inch pieces. Put in a pan over a low heat with half of the sugar. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.
2. Roll out the pastry and line a fluted tart or flan tin, preferably with a removable bottom.
3. Blind-bake the tart base in the oven at 175C for around 15 minutes, remove baking beans and return to oven for a further 5 minutes.
4. Mix the remaining sugar with the eggs, vanilla and flour. Add the cream and the juice from the rhubarb.
5. Lay the rhubarb on the bottom of the pastry and pour the custard mix over the top.
6. Return the tart to the oven and increase the temperature to 190C.
7. Cook the tart for around 15-20 minutes, until the top of the custard is set. Top with the topping and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, until the topping is golden and the custard is fully set.
8. Chill in the fridge until ready to eat.

For the topping:

50g melted butter

50g demerara sugar

50g rolled oats

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1. Mix all the ingredients together.

Singaporean Architecture

Singapore. Beautiful tree-lined boulevards. Fancy cars. Perfectly clean streets. Rules, rules and more rules. A perfect blend of culture and food from all over Asia.

Jakarta. Concentrated. Busy. Traffic. Smelly. The extremely poor co-existing with the affluent. Strong flavours and tradition running through its veins.

These two neighbours are, on the surface, like chalk and cheese.

Singapore is the ultra-modern city of the future…led by rules but constantly evolving, both in architecture and in culture. It is a city that truly never sleeps. Even some of its massive shopping malls are open 24 hours and you can always find a great meal any time of day or night by visiting one of its distinct districts such as Little India or Chinatown. If you think of any aspect of Asian food you will find it in Singapore. From nasi lemak to fish head curry, Singapore has it all.

Baby Mandarins

Jakarta, on the other hand, seems to be trying to be an alternative to Singapore. It has all the beautiful architecture of Singapore but concentrated in the business districts or around some of the more posh suburbs where there are huge apartment blocks sitting on foundations of massive mega-malls. However, if you find yourself travelling between the rich areas you will inevitably find yourself snarled up in a traffic-jam on a motorway or boxed in pot-holed carnage in the slums. Food-wise there is no major difference between the different classes. For one who was brought up on predominantly western food, Indonesian food is like taking a bungy jump blindfolded. You just say yes and hope for an amazing experience!

Temple Silhouette

The cuisine is what brings these two prime foodie destinations together. While on a fleeting visit recently I made a point of not saying ‘no’ without good reason and letting everyone else choose what I should eat. I am most-fortunate in having a wife whose family comes from Indonesia which means I now have relatives in Jakarta. They treated me like a star!

Kopi Luwak, as served

The food itinerary began with samples of jackfruit icecream and durian icecream. For those of you not familiar with durian, it is a large, thorn-covered fruit the size of a watermelon. It has a very distinct and pungent aroma and taste – like the marmite of fruit…either you hate it or love it. We then took the opportunity to try some surprisingly pleasant avocado smoothie and some ‘Kopi Luwak‘. At the equivalent of £7 a cup this stuff doesn’t come cheap; but as the most rare coffee in the world it has to be justified. To sum it up, the ‘luwak’ is an animal that likes to eat the red berries surrounding coffee beans. As it cannot digest the bean itself, the bean is fermented in the luwak’s stomach and excreted. It is then collected from the forest floor and processed in the usual manner. Yummy!

To accompany the coffee we had a selection of sweets and savouries including croquettes (reflecting the Dutch history in Indonesia), and puff pastry balls similar to choux buns filled with banana and cream with chocolate drizzle. After meeting with more of the family I was treated to a fine silk ‘batik‘ shirt. These shirts are very traditional and are worn to state banquets and other important events. Speaking of banquets, we headed to a traditional Indonesian restaurant where it was all laid on for us. We were joined by the rest of the family so it was a great chance for me to meet everyone and for Caroline to get reacquainted.

The Family & The Feast

Among some of the fine dishes we sampled were chilled coconut drinks sweetened with fruit syrups, a crazy-looking fried fish dish, crispy calamari, oxtail soup, prawns, chicken satays and lots of rice. While these may not seem to be too exotic it was the particular spices and sambals that gave the dishes their distinctive and special flavours and aromas.

The following day we visited a food court (food court = clean food!) for some more traditional eats. We enjoyed beef rendang, rujak juki (vegetables in peanut sauce, similar to gado gado), pempek (charred fish cake), longtong sayur (vegetable curry), Gong Xi Fa Cai cake (New Year’s cake) and kacang medan (crisp peanuts coated with tapioca flour, eggs and spices).

Snakeskinfruit

Dinner consisted of a visit to a Chinese noodle restaurant where we ate some superb handmade dumplings and succulents noodle broths. For a delicious, refreshing dessert that night we were made some teler – a sweet, wet, soup-like dessert of coconut, palm sugar, jackfruit, avocado and kolang kaling, a delicious fruit made into a sweet jelly-like candy. We ate this with some fresh snakeskin fruit and golden passionfruit.

Teler

Following our short excursion to Jakarta we headed to Singapore…the city of perfection. Staying with friends of the family we were treated to some absolutely succulent baby mandarins, rambutan, Chinese peanut biscuits, krupuk (Indonesian prawn crackers), not-so-traditional cheesecake and a delicious western-style fruitcake. For dinner we headed out to Little India and indulged in the obligatory fish head curry, complete with eyes (Mmmmmmm…….fish eyes) served on a banana leaf with plenty of rice, vegetable curries and a deliciously light and fluffy garlic naan. The following afternoon we indulged in a sitting of Chinese dim sum, those tasty morsels which came in the form of yet more dumplings, glutenous rice, abalone and pork rolls and my personal favourite – char siu bau…steamed roast pork buns.

For dinner that night we joined two of my wife’s cousins and one of their daughters for a special meal at Din Tai Fung, voted by the New York Times as one of the world’s top ten restaurants. While this is not a fine dining restaurant, they do amazing noodles and dumplings which are all made by hand and to order. Yet another great experience. We complimented the meal with a trip upstairs to the food hall where we had some moreish steamed coconut and palm sugar buns and a sweet coconut ice with jelly. This meal topped off a fantastic few days of sensory awakenings which centered around new experiences and distinct flavours. For anyone who is after a truly memorable culinary adventure, visit Singapore for a bit of everything or dive into Indonesia where there is something new around every corner!

The tagine vessel

Lucky us – we were given for Christmas a fantastic tagine, the traditional cooking dish from Morocco. Since we have such cold weather lately, I can’t think of a more warming dish than lamb tagine with dates, apricots and a bit of roast vegetable couscous on the side.

Tagines can be cooked on the stove-top or in the oven although if your tagine is ceramic and you are using gas burners it is recommended that you use a metal tray underneath to prevent it from cracking. If you have one of the modern tagines with a cast iron base you will be able to seal your meat at higher temperatures than with a ceramic tagine. The cone-shaped lid of the tagine is designed to collect the condensation produced during cooking which then runs back into the stew, keeping it nice and moist.

The ideal cuts of meat for tagines include lamb neck, shank or shoulder as well as chicken thighs and other inexpensive cuts. Ideal seasoning ingredients include apricots, dates, quince, apple, plums and more. Vegetable tagines can also be made successfully and can include aubergines, peppers, okra and pretty much anything else.

Sealing the meat

Tagine goes well with a side of freshly-made couscous. Simply toss some couscous with lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl, add enough boiling stock (I used lamb but chicken or vegetable is great) to cover and cover the bowl with clingfilm for ten minutes or so until the couscous is nice and plump. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and add some fresh mint, coriander and a little parsley. If you have some leftover roasted vegetables or some dried apricots and almonds, these will top it off to perfection!

Lamb Tagine

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

¾ tablespoon ground ginger

½ tablespoon tumeric

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

600g shoulder of lamb, trimmed and cut into chunks

1 ½ medium onions – grated

2 tablespoons rapeseed or argan oil (Moroccan oil from the argan tree – find in specialist shops)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

200ml tomato juice

400g tinned chopped tomatoes

60g dried apricots cut in ½

30g dates – cut in ½

30g sultanas or raisins

50g flaked almonds

½ tsp saffron stamens, soaked in cold water

200ml lamb or beef stock

½ tablespoon clear honey

½ tablespoon pomegranate molasses (optional)

1 tablespoon coriander – roughly chopped

1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley – roughly chopped

1. Place cayenne, pepper, paprika, ginger, tumeric and cinnamon into a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the lamb into a large bowl and toss together with ½ the spice mix. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or tagine dish – I used a cast iron tagine pan but this recipe works very well in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the grated onion and remaining spice mix and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes so that the onions are soft but not coloured. Add the crushed garlic for the final 3 minutes.
3. Add the lamb to the pan and cook until coloured on all sides. De-glaze the pan with half of the tomato juice. Scrape the yummy flavours off the bottom with a wooden spoon or spatula.
4. Add the remaining tomato juice, chopped tomatoes, apricots, dates, sultanas, almonds, saffron, stock, honey and pomegranate molasses. Bring to the boil, cover with a fitting lid and cook over a low heat for 2-2 ½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender. Taste and season with a little salt if desired.
5. Serve the lamb in a tagine dish or large serving dish and sprinkle over the chopped herbs.

The finished product!

Whenever I go back to New Zealand one of the first things I do is buy a pie. Not Mrs Macs or even a BP Zip pie. It has to be a pie from the local baker, where mum’s and workmen indulge in an everyday treat.

With Kiwis consuming an average fifteen pies per year (I make every effort to cram my quota into the 3 weeks I’m in NZ!) we know a good pie. In London you are more likely to eat a Cornish pastie than a meat pie as us Kiwis and Aussies know them but we are lucky to have some antipodean alternatives being Jumbucks in Shepherd’s Bush and Square Pie. One of the classic London dishes is ‘pie, mash and liquor’ (along with ‘jellied eels’) but it can be a bit hit and miss – I’ve had a few really good ones and one particularly terrible one from a ‘traditional’ pie shop in the East End.

Fear not, humble expat (and those back home). My mates in London enjoy a good pie, so here’s my recipe.

Enjoy!

This recipe will make as many pies as you like dependant, of course, on your mould. If you use a shallow muffin tin you will get heaps of mini pies, great for parties. You may be lucky enough to have some proper pie moulds – you should get at least 6. I used tin takeaway containers from my local catering supply store since they didn’t have real tins and I got 5 big ones from this recipe. You can also store them in the freezer in these containers. It may look a little daunting but it’s pretty easy – make the filling (a day in advance is a good idea) then make the pie. Sweet as!

Mince and Cheese Pies

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 medium onions

200g carrot

2 sticks celery

1 kg minced meat – beef, lamb, venison…your choice

2 bayleaves

1½ Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

500ml beef or lamb stock

1 cup frozen peas

2 Tbsp plain flour

Salt and pepper

Some yummy cheese

500g short pastry

500g puff pastry

1 egg and a dash of milk for the eggwash

1. Dice the onions, carrot and celery.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pot.
3. Add the onions, carrot and celery and sauté over a medium-high heat until lightly golden.
4. Add the mince and break up with a wooden spoon. Stir until browned and broken up nice and small.
5. Add the bayleaves, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and stock.
6. Mix well, reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook for around one hour or so, stirring regularly until tender.
7. Add the peas and sprinkle the flour over the top of the sauce, mixing well.
8. Continue cooking a further 10 minutes until thickened.
9. Taste and season with the salt and pepper.
10. To assemble the pie, make sure the filling has cooled to room temperature.
11. Lightly grease your moulds.
12. Roll out your short pastry on a floured surface (after sprinkling with a bit more flour so the rolling pin doesn’t stick) and cut out slightly larger than your moulds, so you can line the interior right up the sides.
13. Put your filling in but don’t fill it completely. You need space for the cheese!
14. Top with a slice of cheese (Monteray Jack is nice, or maybe a bit of Port Salut).
15. Roll out the puff pastry the same way as the short pastry and cut out to fit the top of your pie.
16. Brush the edges of your top with eggwash and place egg-down over the pie.
17. Seal the edges with a fork dipped in flour (so it doesn’t stick) and trim with a knife.
18. Brush the pie top with eggwash, poke a few hole in the top with a knife to let the steam out when they cook.
19. Cook at 180 degrees celsius for around 20-40 minutes, depending on the size.
20. Eat.

I love tomatoes. They are one of the things I look forward to most in summer and I always grow half a dozen varieties each year. This year I grew around 25-30 plants with varieties such as Money Makers, Golden Sunrise, Tigerella, Strawberry tomatoes and Cherry tomatoes all doing very well. Last week I was picking 500g+ each night after work…very satisfying.

One of my foodie childhood memories is making tomato relish with Mum so I’ve decided to have a bash and share my recipe.

Enjoy!

1.5kg tomatoes – quartered and ‘eyes’ removed

3 large onions – chopped

1.5 cups malt vinegar

1.5 cups demerara sugar

1.5 Tbsp mustard powder

1 Tbsp hot curry powder

½ tsp chilli powder

2 tsp salt

1½ Tbsp cornflour

1. In a large, heavy-based saucepan simmer the tomatoes and onions over a low-medium heat until they have released their liquid and reduced by around half. Stir frequently. This will likely take around 1-1½ hours.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and lower the temperature to a very gentle simmer.
3. Continue cooking for around 2 hours until the relish has reduced by around 1/3 and thickened slightly.
4. Mix the cornflour with a little water and add to the relish.
5. Simmer a further 5 minutes.
6. Store in sterilized glass jars until needed. For best results leave the relish to develop and integrate its flavours for a few weeks before consumption.