Rachel’s Roasted Tomato Chutney

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
2. Pluck any green tops from your tomatoes and tumble them into a small roasting tin. Trim the pointy end from the garlic to just expose the cloves, allowing the bulb to sit flat. Nestle the garlic into the center of the tomatoes and tuck the rosemary in on the sides.
3. Roast for 45 minutes or until the tomatoes are starting to collapse and have released a sticky pool of juices.
4. Remove the tomatoes from the oven. Squeeze the garlic cloves out from their skins directly into the pan with the tomatoes. Pluck out the rosemary and discard.
5. Finely chop the pitted dates and add them to the tomatoes, along with the herbs. Grate in the ginger (you can leave the skin on). Add any leaves, blossoms, or other herbs (finely chop if using larger leaves like basil) and give everything a mix.
6. Set a saucepan on a set of digital scales and weigh your tomato mixture. For a more traditional, sweeter chutney, add equal amounts of sugar and vinegar, matching the weight of your tomatoes. For example, if your tomato mixture weighs 300g, use 150g sugar and 150ml vinegar. If you prefer it less sweet, swap out some of the sugar with vinegar (e.g., for 300g of veg, use 100g sugar and 200g vinegar).
7. Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil until all the ingredients come together into a jam-like consistency. You’ll know it’s done when you can drag a spoon across the center of the pan and the mixture parts but starts to come back together. You want a jammy but pourable consistency, as the chutney will thicken slightly on cooling.
8. Spoon into sterilised jars, seal, label, and mature for at least 1 week before use. It’s best after 6 weeks, as the vinegar flavour becomes less sharp and the flavours meld together. The chutney will keep at room temperature for up to 1 year. Store in the refrigerator once opened and consume within one month.

Makes: 1-2 x 200g jars