A friend gave me this recipe for tomato chutney a few years ago, and I've been waiting all summer to get enough tomatoes to make a big batch. I canned mine, but it will keep up to 2 months in the fridge. I used Roma tomatoes and hot peppers from the garden. The dried cranberries came from Nutsonline - my new source for nuts. Usually dried cranberries look like raisins, just a little bigger. These were plump and huge - Bella loved them! 
Here are the ingredients just before I turned the stove on. The recipe is so simple - everything goes into the pan, bring to a boil, and simmer 45 minutes. The only hard part (and it's not really hard, just time-consuming) is peeling & seeding the tomatoes.
Here's what is looks like after cooking, in the pan and then in jars. I tripled the recipe, and it filled 7 pint jars, and 6 1/2 pints, plus a little extra for the fridge. I processed my jars for 10 minutes.
So...what do you do with chutney? Here are 2 ideas -
- Chutney Mozzarella Burgers: mix 1/2 c chutney with 1 lb ground beef. Shape into 4 or 5 balls. Stick your thumb into the ball, fill indentation with shredded mozzarella, then reshape into a patty.
Chutney Chicken Sandwich: take your favorite bread, spread with chutney, top with your favorite cheese and grilled chicken or turkey.
Tomato Chutney
- 3 c tomatoes, peeled, seeded, & chopped
- 1 c chopped red bell pepper
- 1 c chopped red onion
- 1/2 c dried cranberries
- 1/2 c cider vinegar
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/4 c brown sugar
- 2 T minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp mustard seed
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 3-4 jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped (or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper)
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes, or until thickened, stirring frequently. Water bath process 10 minutes for pint jars, or cool & store in the fridge up to 2 months.
