Tomato Relish

In my opinion, homemade tomato relish beats anything from a jar. All you need is some ripe tomatoes, onion, garlic, chilli, apple cider vinegar, salt, brown sugar and soy sauce (for some depth). It's all cooked in one pot for about an hour and then you have a delicious relish you can use on eggs, sandwiches, burgers or a cheeseboard.

Ingredient Notes

Tomatoes: We want ripe tomatoes for this recipe, and they can even be a little overripe if you have some sitting around in the fridge. I generally use Roma or Truss tomatoes but any variety will work. The reason you don't want unripe tomatoes is that they haven't developed their full flavours so the relish can end of being a little flat or bland.

Dried chilli: This recipe includes one whole dried chilli to give the relish a bit of warmth. If you want to add more spice, slice the dried chilli open before tossing it into the pot. This allows the seeds to release and mix directly into the relish. If you want no spice, just leave the chilli out.

Brown sugar: I use brown sugar for this recipe because it gives you that light caramel flavour that goes really well with the relish. That being said, any sugar will work to balance the acidity of the vinegar and tomato. Because we’re using such a small amount you don’t notice the sweetness like you can with some commercial brands of relish. The flavour should be sharp, umami and well balanced but not sweet.

Soy Sauce: Soy sauce adds the depth of flavour and savoury umami that you won’t get just by adding salt alone. To make this recipe gluten free, swap the soy sauce for tamari to achieve a very similar result.

Equipment

• Chopping board

• Chef's knife

• Medium pot

• Spatula or wooden spoon

• Sterile jar with sealable lid